


Boundless as the Sea

by My_parabatai_is_better_than_yours



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Damn I ship this so hard, Drama, Dumb foxes, F/M, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I can't wait to write the end of this, I swear they're in love, It's gonna be a Wilde ride, Lots of Angst, Mystery, OMG how are these two not canon, Romance, Sly Bunnies, huge reveal, murders, some really evil villains, wildehopps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 12:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 57,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11509500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_parabatai_is_better_than_yours/pseuds/My_parabatai_is_better_than_yours
Summary: Once you're falling, there's no saying when you'll get up. And once you've fallen, only the one you've fallen for can save you. And if they don't, you'll heal, but you'll never be what you were before.It isn't easy, falling in love, but Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde manage. Everyone knows, of course... Everyone except them. As they desperately try to deny the feelings that have consumed them, there's another threat looming above them in the form of a case, something that could fracture their whole world and shatter their lives forever.What to Expect:A very in love NickA very in love JudyA very exasperated Chief BogoLots of coffee and donutsOne nerdy wolfAn awkward family reunionPlenty of carrots and blueberriesFeelsReally sadistic and evil criminal mastermindsSo much fluffAnd so much angst tooAnd, of course, Wildehopps aplenty*CURRENTLY ON HIATUS*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! This is my very first attempt at a fanfiction, and I really wanted it to be a Zootopia one, because I swear, it was love at first sight. I got this idea a few nights ago during a chemistry lecture (talk about boring), and was dying to try it out. The unfinished sentence that was the end of the movie prompted me to tie a few strings by myself, and thus, unfortunately, that means I don't own Zootopia, and sadly, that also means I do not own Nicholas Piberius Wilde. 
> 
> Please rate!

The alarm clock shrieked, announcing the beginning of a new day. A small, furry gray paw reached out and slapped the 'snooze' button, silencing the alarm. Judy Hopps sprang up, wide-eyed and already partially awake due to her everyday rise at 5:30 AM. After emerging from the bathroom in a cloud of steam and her long ears swirled in a towel, she glanced at the clock again. 6:15. _About time..._ She picked up her kPhone and scrolled down her list of contacts till she found the right one. She sent her partner a short text which served as his everyday alarm, then proceeded to get dressed. Just before she left the apartment, she texted Nick again.  
_Heading out... You'd better be ready._  
She revved her engine and drove off into the mist that hung over Zootopia every morning. Conveniently, she got stuck in traffic near City Central and had to wait twenty minutes before reaching the part of town where Nick lived.  
_Nicholas Piberius Wilde, if you're not ready yet..._  
She knocked loudly on his door. "Nick, come on! We're late!"  
She heard a muffled thump. Her ear flicked involuntarily. "Nick?"  
The door flew open.  
The fox standing on the other side of the door wasn't too tall, but several heads taller than her, seeing as she was a rabbit. His red fur contrasted sharply with his navy blue uniform, and even more so with his emerald green eyes, which were, as usual, half-lidded and full of mischief. His muzzle was curled in its signature smirk. "Morning, Carrots," he sang, slamming the door shut with his heel and proceeding to lock it with a set of jingling keys. Judy's foot thumped rapidly against the ground.  
"Tomorrow, I expect you to be outside and waiting, not the other way around," she said sternly, turning and making her way to the car. "Well, all right, Judge Judy, I'm glad to see you too," she heard him say, and she could literally hear the laughter in his voice. Judy sighed, slamming the car door closed. A moment later, Nick slinked inside, sliding on his aviator sunglasses and closing the passenger door.  
The car remained motionless.  
"Uh, Carrots?" Nick asked. "Plan to start anytime soon?"  
Judy looked at her partner, and was met with the slightly disconcerting feeling she experienced every time Nick wore his sunglasses- she knew he could see her, but all she was met with was her own reflection. She shook the feeling off. "Nick..."  
He sighed, hooking a finger underneath the rim of his glasses and drawing them down slightly so that she could see his eyes. "All right, Carrots, I'm sorry I woke up late. Coffee's on me today, okay?" Despite herself, Judy felt a smile tug on her lips.  
"Okay."

Nick headed out of the coffee shop, a latte in each paw. He was pleased to note that he remembered Judy's order perfectly, even getting the little dollop of caramel she liked. Then he felt stupid for feeling pleased about it. _She's just your partner, Wilde,_ he told himself. He arranged his face into a blandly sarcastic expression as he sat in the car again. "Officer Hopps, your latte."  
"Why thank you, Officer Wilde," she replied with a grin. He grinned back before he could help it. She sipped it and smacked her lips. "Mm... Caramel?"  
Nick winked at her, and she laughed. "That was one time... How did you remember?"  
He was caught off guard, then regained his composure. "Memory of a fox," he said, tapping his temple. Judy lowered her cup thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure it's memory of an elephant, Nick."  
"Fox."  
"Elephant."  
"Fox."  
"It's elephant."  
"It's fox."  
"Argh! Whatever!"  
He laughed. "It's so easy to frustrate you, Carrots."  
She growled and started the car. Leaning back against the seat, he closed his eyes.  
Within moments, they'd reached Precinct One. Judy parked the car, running her paws through her long ears. Nick jumped out, throwing their empty latte cups in a nearby bin before heading to the door. Only to stop. He turned around. "Hey, Carrots, you coming?"  
"Wha-? Oh, yeah." She jumped out, locking the door. They went in together, just like they did every morning. Nick slid off his aviators and tucked them into his pocket as they reached the front desk. "Hey, Clawhauser!" Judy said, her ears barely clearing the counter. The pudgy cheetah grinned at them. "Hey, you guys!" He said jovially. Then his smile widened. "O-M- Goodness!" He squealed. "Did you guys check out the new Gazelle music video-?"  
"Actually," Nick interrupted. "We gotta get to roll call, Ben. Maybe over lunch?" He tried for a winsome smile. Clawhauser grinned. "Sure! See you!"  
Judy giggled, eliciting a small smile from Nick. "We have duty all day... We can't have lunch here," she said, turning wide amethyst eyes up to him. She grinned at him, and he felt something odd, a deep pull in his chest. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. "I know that, Carrots," he said, and smiled. "I know."

"Shut it!" Came the familiar bass rumble of Chief Bogo as Nick and Judy sat down. They were so small compared to the other mammals on the force that they could easily share a chair. The only one who complained was Judy, because of Nick's long, bushy tail.  
"Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato," Chief said. "Sahara Square SWAT."  
He paused to slide his reading glasses up his snout. "Wilde, Hopps," he looked down at them. "City Central patrol."  
Nick secretly loved patrol- it meant they could use the huge black cruiser he liked, and usually something interesting always happened. And, of course, it meant spending time with Judy.  
Nick looked over his shoulder at his partner as they left bullpen. "Carrots, I call driving today."  
The rabbit smiled. "Sure." She tossed him the keys to the cruiser, and they shared a grin.  
With a loud screech of tyres, Nick and Judy peeled out of the ZPD. 

Judy's head was throbbing. She had no idea why, but her partner was surely not helping by playing loud music from the stereo and humming along tunelessly. "Nick," she muttered.  
He hummed louder.  
"Nick," she practically yelled.  
"Mm?"  
"Can you please quit the humming? And switch the radio off?"  
Nick smiled widely, displaying his ivory canines that still kind of unsettled the rabbit. "Does the bunny not like the music?"  
She sighed. "No. The bunny does _not_ like the music. Or the fox's tuneless humming."  
He shrugged fluidly, but said nothing. His paw darted out, switching off the radio. After half an hour of silent driving-  
"Carrots, you okay?"  
Judy started. "What? Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm, I'm fine. Great, actually."  
He looked at her, and she was once again met with her own reflection. "No, you're not. You've barely said a word to me about my terrible driving, I asked you fifteen minutes ago about what we should do for lunch today, and you've almost fallen asleep, and you're never sleepy in the morning."  
Judy was startled that he was so concerned- _He's just your partner, Hopps,_ she reminded herself. Nothing more. But he did seem really... Concerned. About her. She mentally chided herself, then opened her mouth to reply. "Just a bit of a headache, is all." Then her eyes widened, ears rising in panic. "Nick! Eyes on the road!" The cruiser jerked as Nick righted the vehicle, which was about to smash into an antelope crossing the road. He rolled down the window and shouted, "Sorry, pal!", as they drove past, with a mock salute and a winsome smile. The antelope made an obscene gesture at them with his hoof. Oh, well. This _was _Zootopia.__  
Nick was now, thankfully, looking at the road. She could see his eyes from the side, acid green. "A headache?" he asked, sounding unconvinced. "Sure you can handle it?"  
Judy squared her small shoulders. "Yeah. I can."

____

Contrary to what she had told Nick, Judy was _not_ able to handle her headache, and by the time their shift ended, at 5:00, she could barely see straight. She tried to hide it, but the sly fox noticed quickly. "Judy," he said.  
Her heart began pounding. Her ears rose. He _never_ called her Judy. He did, sometimes, but only when it was something serious. So, rarely.  
"Yes?" She drew the word out, trying to hide her slight panic.  
"You lied to me." Her heart began pounding in earnest. "What do you mean?"  
He frowned at her. It wasn't an expression that crossed his muzzle often. "You said you were okay, but you're not. You look sick." He looked... Angry. It surprised her.  
"Nick, I'll be okay in the morning. All I need is some sleep."  
"Yeah, but the whole day, you were so tired, and you still worked. We caught that smuggler, but you're the one that ran after him- you're so caught up in your job that you never- you don't- you don't get it!" He looked really angry. A huge part of her felt guilty and sad, but a very tiny bit of her felt a secret pulse of excitement, that she could make him this angry, that he was so worried about her. "I'm sorry, Nick-"  
"Yeah, all right, but tomorrow, when you can't even get up, I'm not the one you have to apologize to."  
Her guilt turned into anger. "It's not up to you what I do, Nick."  
"It is!" He was really yelling now, not loudly, but he force behind the words was unmistakable. "We're partners, and friends, and what happens to you matters to me, Judy, because I-"  
He broke off. He looked shocked. Then he quickly covered up, his eyelids dropping, a smirk curling across his face. "All right, Carrots," Carrots, not Judy anymore. "Fine. You win. Hop home now, and if you'd be so kind as to give me a ride home, it'd be great."  
She stared at him. "Fine, be flip about it!" She said. "And catch a bus or something. I'm tired of dropping your sorry tail home every night."  
"Aw, Fluff, you don't mean that."  
She ground her teeth together. "Get in the car."

"See ya tomorrow, Carrots," Nick sang, slamming the car door. His heart was still beating fast from the fight they'd had- not that they didn't fight all the time, but he'd been awfully close to telling his friend that he didn't think of her as a friend.  
_"We're partners, and friends, and what happens to you matters to me, Judy, because I love you!"_  
He slammed his front door, cringing away from the words that he could never say. Nick and Judy were an inseparable pair that always stuck together. Nick and Judy. Judy and Nick. They'd grown closer over the years, as friends, but what Nick had not expected was for the slow but sure change in the way he thought of her, and every day it multiplied, until one morning he'd woken up and realized that he was irrevocably in love with Judy Hopps. After that, every time he was with her it was like an invisible weight was pressing onto his chest, and there was always something that he could never say.  
_"You know you love me."_  
_"Do I know that? Yes. Yes I do."_  
While once, it had been something casual, Nick never asked her that again, with the irrational fear that she would somehow realize how he felt about her, and feel repulsed, or angry, or shocked.  
_Or she might feel the same way about you..._  
He shoved the thought away, not wanting to give himself false hope.  
He neatly folded his uniform and threw on an old shirt and sweats, glancing at the time. 7:30. He ordered takeout and ate mechanically, his mind elsewhere. Finally, he slumped on the couch and watched bad T.V until 11:00, then flopped down onto his bed and fell asleep, a pair of amethyst eyes floating in the back of his mind.

The next day, Nick's eyes snapped open earlier than usual, at 5:45 in the morning. His mind was exhausted, and keeping things from Judy was something that he did not like to do, even if his whole existence was basically a secret he had to keep from her. He was out and waiting by 6:00, and once Judy arrived, the whole day seemed to brighten, her chipper amusement rubbing off on him. In love with her he might be, but he never let that tarnish what they shared. Instead, he took to sneaking glances at her whenever she thought nobody was looking. He caught her murmuring her schedule under her breath, which made him laugh, and she also worried at a crease in her pants more often than not. He slid on his aviators, feeling relieved as he did so. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing that he could see her but she couldn't see him. It made him feel less vulnerable, somehow. Judy, on the other hand, frowned whenever he put them on. He pretended not to notice. Within no time, they were at Precinct One.  
They walked in, Judy still worrying at the crease. It was driving Nick crazy, how much nervous energy she seemed to have. She hadn't said a single word to him the whole ride, and he had a vague feeling she was still angry at him for last night.  
"Hey, Ben, it's us," Nick said cautiously, sliding his permit across the counter towards the cheetah. He nodded with fervor. "Hey, guys!"  
They headed towards bullpen, and Nick knew that he was expected to look unruffled and carefree and sarcastic, so he stuffed his paws in his pockets, tilted his chin, raised his eyebrows, dropped his eyelids and allowed a lazy smirk to cross his muzzle. "Fluff," he said, his voice drawling in the way he knew Judy hated. She didn't reply. "Carrots." Silence. "All right, Hopps, what's wrong?" She bit her lip. Nick blew out an exasperated breath, his facade of indifference dissolving. He crossed his arms, stepping in front of Judy to block her path. "Judy-"  
"Nick, I'm sorry," she said without preamble, and somehow he knew she wasn't apologizing for the previous night- that was Nick's job. "Just... Give me a moment, please." She scampered towards the bathrooms, not even pausing to look back at Nick, who was standing alone next to the door.

Judy scrubbed at her face with cold water, allowing her tiredness to wash away. She hadn't slept the whole night, just thinking about what Nick had said.  
_"We're partners, and friends, and what happens to you matters to me, Judy, because I-"_  
What had he been about to say? Because I care about you? Because I need you?  
Because I love you?  
Her body recoiled, not wanting that to be what he thought. She knew what it would mean for both of them. For her. It would be terrible. It would be wrong, and it would be... The best thing in the world.  
Judy Hopps had fallen in love with Nick Wilde.  
She couldn't put her paw on exactly how it had happened, but there it was. They'd just done patrol, and Nick and her had bought ice cream, sitting outside and sharing it. Nick had dropped some on his spotless uniform, and she had seen the expression of total concentration on his face as he'd wiped it off with a tissue. He didn't notice her staring at him. His eyes were trained downward, his snout all scrunched up, biting his lip. And it was at that moment, like a stroke of lightning, when it had hit her. _He is my whole world._  
She towelled her fur dry and left the bathroom, finding Nick exactly where she'd left him. He looked at her with unguarded concern. "You okay?"  
She smiled at him. Smiles came easily whenever Nick was involved. At least she didn't have to fake that. "Yeah. Just needed to wash my face."  
He studied her. "Yeah?"  
"Mm-hmm." She forced her ears to rise in the hope that he'd take it as a sign that she was okay.  
He smiled back. _It worked._ "After you, Officer Hopps."  
She grinned. "Oh, Officer Wilde, you shouldn't have." And she stepped inside. 

There was a problem. A big one. Judy knew it instantly, in the tense atmosphere of the room, to the set of Chief Bogo's shoulders. Without preamble, as usual, he said, "There's been a murder."  
The room stilled.  
The absolute silence was broken by Rhinowitz. "Sir?"  
Bogo sighed, pushing his reading glasses up his snout. "That's right, a murder. Just this morning. 3:00 AM, an alleyway off Sahara Square." He turned and flicked on the projector. Nick and Judy shared a glance full of apprehension.  
What they saw on the projector shocked them.  
A body, clearly of a middle-aged Zebra, had been shot, or stabbed, or perhaps both. The grisly sight made Judy's bagel rise again in her throat. Bogo switched it off, moving on to the victim's details. "The thing is," the Chief said. "The security cameras of the neighboring store caught the murder on tape."  
"Well?" Officer Fangmeyer demanded. "Who is it?"  
Bogo clicked a button.  
The tape showed the murder, and Judy had to place a paw over her mouth to stop herself from throwing up. The murderer was clearly some sort of canine, using, as Judy had feared, both a gun and a knife. As the zebra fell, the assailant turned fully towards the camera. There was a collective gasp.  
It was a fox, a red fox, with striking emerald green eyes that sparked with a crazed intelligence. Lean, tall, muscular. Familiar to everyone present in the room.  
Nicholas Wilde.  
Or so it seemed. It couldn't have been him. It wasn't Nick. Every cell in Judy's body knew it wasn't him. But the fox looked exactly like Nick, down to the last strand of coppery fur.  
The fox scampered off, bottlebrush tail flashing. Her heart hurt. Even the tail, the gentle blend of red to black, was the same as Nick's. She felt her ears drop.  
The tape ended. Bogo slid off his glasses as the lights flickered back on. Nobody was looking at Nick, which made it seem as if everyone was.  
Before Nick could open his mouth, Bogo said, "All right. Wilde, we all know it wasn't you. However, it will take more than that to convince the ZNN and the rest of Zootopia. The instant they see the tape, they'll arrest you- without a trial. Understand that."  
Nick looked shell-shocked, his fur blanching. "But for that-"  
"Yes, a full investigation must commence." He sighed, a bit of tiredness showing itself through his tough exterior. Then he hardened again, ordering most of the officers to the site of the murder, to tape off the area and call family and investigate. Soon, the only two left in the room were Nick and Judy.  
"Officers Hopps and Wilde, my office, if you would."  
He opened the door, ushering him in. They all three sat, and Bogo exhaled hard.  
"Congratulations Officers, I'm promoting you."  
There was a shocked silence. Judy's ears rose high. Bogo continued. "You are now promoted to homicide, and thus detectives." He opened a file on his desk. "For this to work, for the people to believe us, I need you two on the case. Do you understand?"  
Nick seemed to horror-struck to reply. His green eyes were blank as he stared ahead. Judy answered for him. "Yes, sir, we do."  
"Good. I'm afraid we have to eschew all formality and begin immediately." He handed them a little bag, then turned away. The dismissal could not be clearer. Judy put her paw on Nick's arm and gently steered him from the room. 

Nick's head seemed full of white noise. The tape, it was him- or at least, it looked like him. He imagined, with a sick feeling, waking up in the middle of the night and unaware of what he was doing, slashing open the zebra, returning home, and forgetting- isn't that what happened to some mammals who were mentally unstable?  
_You are not mentally unstable,_ said a firm, yet soft voice in his head. It was Judy's voice. For the last couple of years, the comforting voice in his head had always been Judy's.  
_Well, you are in love with a bunny..._ said a more snide voice.  
He pushed the thought away. He felt a paw on his arm suddenly, and felt cold air in his lungs. Somehow they were outside, and Nick was breathing heavily. He felt Judy steer him towards an alley, and once under the cover of darkness, Nick's legs finally gave out. He slid to the ground, Judy whispering softly in his ear. Her words went in and out of focus, like a badly tuned radio.  
"Isn't your fault... Have to... Realise... You."  
"What?"  
"You have to understand," she repeated in a hushed voice. "They need to know it isn't your fault. Somehow, we have to make them see... Realise that it isn't you."  
Nick stood. He was Nicholas Wilde, the very first fox officer in history... Well, he was a detective now, courtesy of Chief Bogo. He wasn't about to have a breakdown because there was a fox who looked like him, or had impersonated him, who had murdered someone else.  
Suddenly he froze. _What if..._  
"Judy," he said, and like every time he used her real name, she froze, ears rising immediately. "What? What is it, Nick?"  
"What if... Someone is trying to frame me? Impersonate me?"  
Her ears dropped. "Frame you?" She sounded confused. "Why would anyone want to frame you?"  
Nick walked out of the alley, Judy following in confusion. "That," he told her, "is exactly what we're going to find out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism will be welcomed with opened arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A witness, a shadow, and dark desire. Nick and Judy have just discovered that there is someone identical to Nick out there, and that whether they want it or not, they're in the thick of things. Pushing their emotions out of the way (somewhat), they try to eliminate the problem before it eliminates them. Basically. 
> 
> How hard can it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaaaand chapter 2 is out! Chapter 3 is going to take a while, though. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing! Thanks to everyone who commented, and once again, I welcome criticism. Enjoy!

They began with the meager case file. They took it from Clawhauser, who eyed Nick pitifully when he did. Nick grabbed it and began to rifle through it, and the cheetah spoke. "Um, Nick-"  
Nick didn't look up, but knew that Judy had just given Clawhauser her signature _Stop talking now!_ sort of look, and he subsided. Nick turned away from the desk, snout still buried in the file. He walked towards the doors, muttering to himself. "Resources, we have plenty. Leads, none. Where do we start?"  
"Well," said a voice. It was Judy. Ears of a rabbit, he had almost forgotten. She jogged up to him. "Why don't you flip the page?"  
Nick did. There, in bold letters, was the account of a traumatized witness, a ram who had been passing by to pick his brother up from the train station or something. Nick frowned. "Okay, so we have a witness. What-"  
"Nick," Judy said impatiently. "That could really help. I say we go over and inter- I mean, question him." Despite the terrible situation, Nick found it in himself to grin. "Interrogate? You were definitely going to say interrogate."  
Judy's ears were tinged pink. "No, I wasn't."  
"You were."  
"Was not."  
"Was too."  
"Was not."  
"Was too."  
"Oh, Nick! Stop it!"  
He smiled. "Like I said. So easy to frustrate." He flicked her ear with a casual paw and headed out the door, his grumbling partner in tow. 

**_Meanwhile, a few miles away..._ ** ____

____

_"You've returned, I see," said a shadow at the far end of the little room. It was a little shabby flat on the outside, but on the inside it was something else, something far darker._  
_"Yes," answered the silky voice of the fox. "It's done, and I made sure they caught it on tape. The buffalo put the two on the case as well."_  
_The shadow laughed. "Excellent. They've played right into my paws. This will be easier than anticipated."_  
_The fox strained his eyes, but even with his excellent night vision, he could make out little of the form. He could only hear the voice, deep, rich and cruel. "You still haven't told me your name," the fox protested. "I like knowing who I'm killing for."_  
_The shadow showed him a ghost of a smile full of sharp canines. "What is it, little fox? Frightened of a shadow?"_  
_"I told you. I want to know who I'm working for."_  
_The shadow turned, and the fox stifled his disappointment. He was tall, and dressed in a large coat, but he was wearing a mask that covered his whole muzzle, only his eyes visible. They were ice blue and full of hatred. "I cannot tell you my true name," he said. Then he paused.  
"But you may call me Omega." _

__

__

____

They arrived at the house of the ram, which was about half a block away from the crime scene, which was taped off and crawling with officers of all shapes and sizes. They decided to ditch the huge black cruiser, since it would attract a lot of attention, and went for a demure blue car instead. Judy drove, looking at Nick out of the corner of her eye. He seemed tense, tapping his fingers in a random tattoo on his knee and looking out of the window with his aviators on.  
Judy rang the bell of the little house, and they waited. Nick hadn't taken off his glasses, and Judy wished he would. Just as she was going to ask him to, the door opened.  
The ram looking at them in a scared sort of way looked, to Judy, like every other ram she had dealt with. Stout, sturdy, woolly. The whole package. "Please, do come in, officers- er, detectives," he corrected himself, looking at their new badges. He stepped aside to let them in. Nick still hadn't taken off those aviators when they went inside.  
Once they had been seated, Judy began. "Mr. Ramdon, we have a few questions for you about what you witnessed earlier today." She kept her tone as neutral and soothing as possible. "If you would answer them as best as you can, it'd be great."  
The ram's side-pupilled eyes darted to Nick, then settled on Judy again. "Of course, detective."  
She cleared her throat. "Can you describe to us exactly when it happened?"  
"I didn't see it happen, but I did see the attacker slink off pretty fast. It was around 2:40 in the morning, no light at all. I guess there was surveillance, because there's a jewellery store next door."  
Judy beat around the bush for a few minutes, then went in for the kill. "Sir, could you describe the assailant?"  
The ram frowned. "He was of medium height, a red fox, green eyes. Long snout, bushy tail, of course, being a fox... There wasn't any blood on him, I-" he shook his head. "He-" The ram suddenly paled in fright. "That's him! That's him right there, it's who I saw!"  
He was pointing, not surprisingly, at Nick, who had slid off his sunglasses at last, his green eyes shining like an accusation. _So that's why he kept them on,_ she thought. Nick looked cool and collected, but in his eyes she saw the truth.  
"Sir, this is Detective Nicholas Wilde, and he's on the case. It wasn't him who you saw." Nick dropped a nod to the ram, who looked unconvinced. "I swear, I saw that fox," he said, doubt laced in his voice. And finally, Nick spoke. "Sir, I assure you, at 2:40 in the morning, I was nowhere near here. I have no intention, nor any sort of other motive to kill someone." He sounded... Normal. A little firm, but detectives were supposed to be firm, weren't they?  
The ram looked relieved. "I apologize. The resemblance is... startling."  
"Quite understandable," Nick said calmly, though she could see the different emotions warring in him- fear, anger, worry.  
They polished off the questioning and assured the ram that they would get the culprit, and with a final, scared look in Nick's direction, he slammed the door in their faces.

Nick was not in a good mood. The ram- well, Nick couldn't blame the ram, since the assailant looked exactly like him, but he was still angry, and he wanted someone to blame. The ram seemed like a good option. "Stupid sheep," he muttered as they left the house. "They're all rotten. Remember Bellweather and Doug? They were evil. And what were they? _Sheep._ "  
Judy sighed dramatically. "Nicholas, not all sheep are evil. You're just prejudiced after the Night Howlers incident. No... Not prejudiced. Paranoid. You are a paranoid fox."  
He made a face. "Nicholas? Since when did you call me Nicholas?"  
"Since you started acting like I need to. Nicholas Piberius Wilde," she sang, grinning sideways at him. He scowled. "Judith Laverne Hopps," he retorted.  
"Sometimes I hate my mom for naming me _Judith Laverne,_ of all the horrible old lady names to give me," she sighed, starting the car. They left the street, heading back to Precinct One. As they turned into the parking lot, Nick said, "Well, now what? We interrogated the witness, and a fat lot of good that did, because all we got out of it was that the culprit looks like me, and we all know that, don't we?" He tried not to sound too bitter, but he couldn't hide it from Judy- she frowned at him, a crease appearing between her brows. She said nothing. Nick went on. "And whoever did it is probably going to get away with it, because we have no leads, no nothing, and by the end of the week, I'll probably be in jail." He huffed out a sort of humorless laugh. "Wouldn't that be ironic. The first fox detective in history in jail."  
Jury had parked the car. She turned fully, anger glittering in her eyes. "You will not land in jail, Nick, and if it's the last thing I do, I will _make sure_ your name is cleared, and if it's not, and if they arrest you, well, they'll have to arrest me too!"  
He stared at her. She was shouting, the force of her words going through him like an arrow. But she wasn't done. "Because I'm not just your partner, Nick, I'm more than that. I'm your friend, and I will help you."  
Nick flashed back to a time before this one, under a rotting bridge on the outskirts of the city, where he had first realized the depth of their friendship. _"But I can't do it without you..."_  
"Judy..." He couldn't speak; it felt like there was a glass shard lodged in his throat. She smiled at him through glassy eyes swimming with unshed tears. Another vivid memory, of the same day, flashed through his mind. _"Okay... Oh, you bunnies. So emotional."_  
"Nick, I can't say I understand, but we are going to get through this. I promise."  
And finally, Nick found the strength to smile. "Oh, believe me, Carrots. I know."

_That day, at the ZPD, there was someone else, watching. Someone with eyes blue as ice and a thousand times colder. Someone with revenge in their heart and a plan to carry it out. That day, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde had a shadow, tailing them, watching them. That day, even when the room was empty, they were not alone. There was someone out there, someone determined to win the game. Pawns were falling, and soon the King would have to surrender. He didn't care about the rabbit. His prize was the fox, red as the devil.  
His prize was the fox, and he knew he would get him. All he had to do was wait, and watch as the world fell apart._

Judy's phone was ringing. It had been ringing for a while, but assuming it was her parents, she had let it go on, and hadn't picked it up. She had dropped Nick home about an hour ago after a rather boring day. There wasn't much for them to do, what with the minimal leads they had. Straws to grasp, more like. She was tired, not just in body, but in soul too.  
The stupid phone was still ringing. Now she was getting annoyed, so she grabbed it and looked at the caller. _Nick?_  
"Hi," she said.  
"Carrots, why weren't you answering?"  
She gulped. "I was... In the bathroom."  
She heard him sigh. "Hate to ask this of you, Fluff, but... I kind of got kicked out of my flat."  
She actually held the phone away and stared at it, as if it were Nick. "What?" She demanded, placing the phone back at her ear. "Why?"  
He grumbled something about rent, and she grinned. He had evaded tax, but now that he was a cop, he couldn't... Instead, he evaded rent now. "Well, partner, I'm real sorry for you," she said jovially. "Maybe this will teach you to actually pay."  
She heard more grumbling. Then, "So... Can I crash over at yours?" He sounded tentative, scared almost. Taking her silence for rejection, he rushed on. "I mean, not permanently. Just for a few nights, till I can find a new place. If it's not okay, it's fine, I can-"  
"No! No, Nick, it's fine. Of course you can come over," Judy said hurriedly, trying to ignore her racing heartbeat. _Nick is going to stay in your house, always close, always near..._ She pushed the thoughts away. "Whatever you need," she heard herself say. Then, with a hurried goodbye, she hung up.  
Leaning against the counter, she tried to get her thoughts under control. "It's just a few days," she muttered to herself. It'd be easy. Really easy. She imagined waking up to the sight of his rumpled fur and a halo of sleep around him, that warm, buzzing aura. She smiled to herself.  
It was going to be a very long few days. 

Nick arrived at Judy's, trying to control his out-of-control thoughts. It was just a few days at his friend's place. What harm could it do? He knocked, and almost immediately, the door opened. Judy smiled radiantly at him. "Hey, Slick," she said, grabbing one of his suitcases and hauling it inside. "Hey, Fluff," he replied, grabbing the rest of his luggage and stepping inside. He had been here many times, so why was his heart pounding and his palms sweating? "Sorry for the short notice," he said, sitting on her couch. "Oh, really, it's nothing!" he heard her call from the tiny kitchen. His eyes flicked towards the bedroom, it's door slightly ajar. He had been to Judy's too many times to count, but in all that time, he had never been in her bedroom. It seemed... intimate somehow. Through the gap made by the door he saw the edge of her bed. Her bed, where she slept. His mouth dried. He swallowed, and tore his eyes away.  
"Anything to eat?" He heard her ask, and shook his head before realizing she couldn't see him. "Nope, all good," he called.  
Judy came out from the kitchen, and sat across from him, on the coffee table. "Hate to break it to you," she said, violet eyes sparkling, "but you're going to have to take the couch."  
Nick grinned back. "Better than a box under a bridge," he replied, and winked at her. Her ears pinked slightly, and she made a face at him. "That's where you'd be if it wasn't for me," she muttered, and stuck her tongue out at him. He placed a paw on his chest in mock hurt. "Oh, Carrots, you don't mean that."  
"Oh, but I do," she cooed, and smiled wickedly.  
"Guess I'll see you in the morning, then," he said, and saluted. She waved and skipped to her bedroom. He caught a glimpse of her white tail as she disappeared around the door.  
It was going to be a very long few days. 

Nick woke up the next morning with a heady, sweet, feminine scent lingering in the air. He opened his eyes and sat up, realizing that he was in Judy's place, on her couch, surrounded by her scent. He inhaled deeply. The scent was intoxicating. He shook his head as if to clear it of flies, and stood up and yawned. A slight noise behind him made him turn around, mid-yawn.  
Jury was standing there, halfway to her bedroom door, a towel tucked around her small form. He tried not to stare- he had never seen that much of her legs before, or her shoulders, or anything at all, really. Judy wasn't one to wear things that displayed too much of her body.  
The yawn died in his mouth.  
She was staring at him, too, eyes wide and filled with a foreign emotion he couldn't identify. It darkened her violet eyes, enlargening her pupils. He saw her swallow, her ears rise. The moment stretched on, interminable. It could have been hours, or days, or seconds. Finally, Nick broke the tension.  
"Good morning, Carrots." He almost didn't recognize his own voice, heavy with sleep and something else, something that made heat race up and down his body. Judy blinked, looking away from him. Her ears were still up. "Morning," she muttered, and rushed into her bedroom, closing the door. Nick sat down hard, his breathing heavy. He knew she affected him, but only today did he realize exactly how much she did. He glanced at a mirror hanging above a table nearby and flushed (though it wasn't noticeable). His fur was rumpled, eyes darkened by desire, and altogether, he looked very unlike himself. He looked away from the mirror and stood again, making his way to the bathroom off the hall. He would find a way to put an end to this- he would.

Judy's breathing refused to lighten. In her mind's eye she saw him, Nick, fur tousled and parted, smiling that predatory smile and his eyes that burned dark green. Heat curled inside her, almost painful. She squeezed her eyes shut. _No,_ she told herself sternly. _I won't think of him that way._ But her imagination spun into overdrive, defying her even as she thought it. She ran her paws through her ears in frustration. When would he stop affecting her this way? Every time she saw him, it was the same.  
She pulled on her uniform. The case, she would think of the case. She would think of clearing Nick's name, and not doing... Anything else. She tentatively stepped out of her bedroom, looking right and left. But then she heard water running, and relaxed. So he was in the shower. She went to the kitchen, making coffee. Unconsciously, she made Nick's the way he liked it- milk, no sugar, lots of cream. She set his cup on the coffee table and sipped her own, trying to focus her thoughts. _Where do we start?_ Maybe they could go talk to Bogo about leads, or even Clawhauser. Either way, they would start at the ZPD. They could even talk to Duke Weaselton... He knew a lot, and they could-  
Her train of thought derailed spectacularly and crashed as Nick stepped out of the bathroom. Thankfully, he was fully dressed, but the steam framed him in a glowing halo. His fur was still slightly wet, and she swallowed thickly, tearing her eyes away. _Focus on something else, anything else._ She settled on the small pot of sugar on the counter opposite her. "Hey," she said, but it came as a whisper. She cleared her throat. "Hey," she repeated, relieved to find that she sounded normal and not laced with desire like she felt. She saw him smile out of the corner of her eye. "Hey," he replied easily. He picked up his mug and padded over to where she was standing. He leaned against the counter and sipped his coffee, placing an elbow on her head, using it as an arm rest- the one thing she hated the most. She pushed his arm off, almost spilling his drink. He held fast. "Get off," she muttered. He studiously ignored her. "So," he said conversationally. "Where do you want to start?"  
She successfully pushed his arm off her head and ducked under it, leaning against the opposite counter. She shrugged. "We'll start at Precinct One, but we'll work it outwards from there. I was thinking... Contacts."  
He grinned. "Weaselton?"  
She grinned back. "Wilde, you read my mind."

_Omega's eyes watched them, the fox and the rabbit, as they left the little building. They laughed together about something, and he saw, briefly, a flash of something in the fox's eyes. His muzzle curled into an amused smile. So not just love, but something far more carnal glinted in his eyes, something predatory and dark. He was a fox, and she was a rabbit. What had he been expecting? He felt a familiar ripple of unadulterated hatred. As intense as it was, he was unperturbed; He often felt at that intensity around that particular species, foxes._  
_As the odd pair drove away in a car, Omega felt a ray of sunlight hit his face, almost blinding him. Zootopia was waking slowly, and along with it woke something within Omega.  
He had a plan. The red-furred devil had a weakness. And Omega would use it to its fullest. He laughed aloud, to himself. Yes, this was going to be very easy. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honest opinions are the most appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crime bosses, Fennec foxes and seedy plots. Throw in a couple of polar bears, some valuable information and ice cream, and we have the perfect setting. Judy and Nick are racing against time, and they need all the help they can get. With a criminal mastermind out there, anything can go wrong. Our favorite fox and rabbit are fighting a battle that has just begun. They have plenty on their plates already; A case, a threat, and their own emotions. Will they be able to balance any more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! I made it to chapter 3! *dances*  
> Hope everyone likes it so far, and if you think it lacks or needs something, please do not hesitate to let me know, I will pounce on it and correct it. Thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments! You are the glaze to my donuts (without you, I am bland and tasteless)! Love you all.

"Start talking," Judy said angrily, knowing that Duke Weaselton would only comply under harsh circumstances. The weasel grinned. "Serves you right for joining the force, Wilde," he sneered, showing off his canines. "You used to be a good one," he added, in a disappointed way. Judy scowled. "A good what?"  
"A con artist," answered Nick. He was leaning against the brick wall of the alley they had cornered Weaselton in, grinning all over his face. "It got tedious some days, but it paid," Nick continued thoughtfully. "Anyway, if you know anything, Weaselton, spill. Or this will get very ugly, very fast." He managed to threaten him, and at the same time, sound cheerful. It was maddening, to the criminals they dealt with. Judy had chastised him first, then she got used to it, now she even approved of it; the angrier the suspect, the more reckless they'd be, and the more they'd say. She folded her arms across her chest and scowled at the weasel, eyes narrowed. But he simply shrugged. "I don't really know, but I know what you're talking about. That zebra, whatever his name was. Shot, stabbed, the whole deal." He leered at them. "You know what they all think? They think it's you," he said. "The part of town I come from, nobody can stop talking about the ex-con who turned cop, and turned savage." His red eyes gleamed. If he thought he was getting a rise out of Nick, he was wrong... Right? She glanced at Nick. He was unruffled as always. "Oh, really," he drawled. "How..." He yawned. "...interesting." He examined his claws with seeming indifference. "Anything else, Wessleton?"  
The weasel stomped a foot, irritated. "How many times do I have to tell you people, it's Weaselton," he snapped. "And that's all I know. So get out of here!"  
"Wait," Judy said desperately. "If you know anything else-"  
"Not for sure, I don't. But if I were you," he said, his focus shifting to Nick. "I'd watch my back, because whoever is out there, they're gonna look to you next."  
With that, he scampered away, leaving them in the alleyway alone. Judy turned to Nick, who was frowning as he checked his phone. "Gotta get to HQ," he said distractedly. "Something about Wolfard wanting to ask us some stuff." He snorted. "Probably wants to ask if I did it." He turned away before Judy could reply, and walked off back to the car.

Wolfard, it turned out, did not want to ask if he'd done it, he just wanted to know what they learned from Weaselton. They complied, and when they mentioned him saying that the murderer would target them next, his whole expression changed, from mildly interested to absolute hatred. Nick felt like he had imagined it, because an instant later, he was back to mildly interested. Nick glanced at his partner, but she was acting as if nothing out of the extraordinary had happened at all.  
_I definitely imagined it,_ he thought. Wolfard was a mild guy, pretty small for a wolf, actually. Nowhere near as big as the guards Judy and Nick has run into at the Cliffside asylum, during their first case, but short, only about six inches taller than Nick. He was nice, too, one of the only officers who didn't really mind that there was a fox at the ZPD, or that the fox had a bunny partner, and that they were both of the opposite gender. Sometimes he and Clawhauser would gang up with Rhinowitz and tease them over lunch. It was a pretty normal thing, he supposed. Not much teasing where he'd come from, but there was, of course, Finnick, who had always laughed at him for the acts he put up to get jumbo pops. But then again, Finnick had never sang, _Nick and Judy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,_ at the top of his lungs in the middle of a large, fully occupied dining hall. Oh, well. Being a cop had its perks. Wolfard grinned at Nick now, any formality he had displayed during the questioning gone. "So," he said happily. "Did you and Judy-"  
"Wolfard," Nick said, trying to sound chiding, but failing. It came out more as mildly annoyed. "Look, there's nothing between me and Judy, okay? Let that go."  
The wolf grinned. "Yeah. Nothing between you- but I bet you wish there was."  
Nick stopped dead. "And what is that supposed to mean?"  
He shrugged fluidly. "You like her. A lot- and not as a friend." He dropped his voice. "Look, Nick, I'm a guy too. I know these things. So sometimes, it's best to own up." He steered Nick out of the lobby and up the stairs into his office. After closing the door, he turned to Nick again, brows raised. _Moment of truth,_ thought Nick. How hard could it be, really?  
Obviously, he had no idea.  
"Look, Wolfard... About Judy. I don't- I mean-"  
"Nick," he interrupted. "Just- it's okay. Do you like her? I think 'love' is too strong a word, so- do you?"  
Nick tried to speak, but he couldn't, he tried to swallow, but he couldn't. He coughed. "Yes," he muttered.  
Most mammals wouldn't be able to hear his low voice, but the wolf caught it and smiled a little. "Knew it," he said. "Fifty dollars to me!"  
Nick stared. "Wait, what? Was I just the source of a bet?"  
Wolfard grinned.

Judy watched as Wolfard practically dragged her partner up the stairs and into his office. _Men._ They were probably talking about stuff that she couldn't know about. Knowing Wolfard, it was something stupid. The absence of Nick in the lobby meant that she had to spend the hour with Clawhauser, who blabbed about Gazelle the entire time. Judy smiled through her teeth and tried to act like she cared, but in reality, she wanted nothing more than to leave. Finally, Nick descended the stairs, Wolfard in tow. Wolfard was grinning, but Nick looked a little more apprehensive. He jogged over to her, and she glared at him. "While you and Wolfard were hanging out in his office, I was dying alone here listening to '200 Things You Didn't Know About Gazelle', Clawhauser edition. It was awful."  
Nick burst out laughing. "Well, partner, I'm real sorry for you," he said, smiling down at her. She made a face at him, knowing he was mirroring her words from the other night. "And about Wolfard..." He looked around at the wolf, who was giggling with Clawhauser. "It's nothing. Some stupid comic he'd read." Judy side-eyed him, suspicious. She knew he was lying. But why would he lie to her? "Anyway," Judy said. "We need to get some more leads about the case." Nick sighed. "Apparently it's coming to be called the 'Wilde Case', no pun intended. Or maybe pun intended, because we're all about puns here at the ZPD." He was scowling. Foxes and their mood swings. Judy sighed. Once Nick was in a mood, only one thing could cure it. And Judy was going to get him just that.

"Here you go!"  
Judy grinned at Nick, handing him a blueberry ice cream with generous amounts of cream. He shook his head, but took the ice cream. "Carrots, what are you trying to do?"  
She shrugged, settling herself next to him. He felt her tail brush his leg, and stiffened. A moment later, he relaxed. This was Judy. They were friends, partners, whatever. He had no reason to feel so exposed around her, right?  
"I'm not _trying_ to do anything," she said, delicately spooning some raspberry-passion fruit sundae in her mouth. "I know you," she said easily. "If you're mad about something, you won't forget about it until you've had some blueberry ice cream." She grinned around the rim of her cup, and he couldn't help but grin too. "Well, what do you know," he said. "The bunny's got the fox memorised." She winked at him. "She sure has," she replied. They finished off their ice cream, and Judy stood, brushing herself off. "Well," she said. "Feeling better now?" She held out a paw to help him up. He hid a smile. She was so small, yet the force of her personality made that easy to forget. Most times he felt shorter than her, though in reality, he was twice her size. He took her paw and stood, stretching. "Much," he replied. "So, ready to finish this?" He asked, and she grinned. "Pretty much born ready," she retorted, and they headed back to the cruiser. 

Judy tried to act optimistic, and positive, and like she knew what she was doing. But really, she had no clue. And it frightened her like nothing had before, because no ideas meant no leads meant this case was closed. And that meant Nick would be branded as a murderer and thrown into prison. So she smiled brightly and tried not to yell with frustration. It was difficult, being in a position like hers. She may have gained respect after the Night Howlers case, but that respect came at a price. She was still a woman, and a rabbit, and two feet tall. She had broken every rule to get where she was, and she knew everyone talked behind her back about her, the bunny cop with a fox partner. That was the worst part, the things people said about her and Nick. The rumours flying around she pretended not to hear. The Zootopia Police Department was still a congregation of mammals, and that meant antagonism and hate and lies. Nick had been so distant lately, for the past few months. She had to repeat everything she said twice or thrice before he heard, and he always seemed lost in his head. He, for one, actually didn't hear the terrible things everyone said about them. She couldn't blame him; being a fox cop was possibly even worse than being a bunny. And now this had come up, this 'Wilde Case'. Why them? Why only Nick and Judy? Why couldn't some other two mammals have problems for once? It wasn't fair.  
The pent-up rage and frustration was building up inside her, and she felt like screaming. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to say anything to anyone ever again. But sadly, that was not an option.  
"So," Nick said presently. He was leaning back against his seat, looking out of the window at the city smearing by. "Where do you want to go now?"  
Judy still felt her emotions choking her. She opened her mouth to say, "let's go check out some files back at Precinct One,", but the words didn't come. She tried again, and instead of saying what she wanted to, the moment her mouth opened, she stared to cry.  
It was horrible; Judy _hated_ crying. She _never_ cried. Or at least, she tried not to. But now, she couldn't help it. Nick, for his part, was totally unprepared. He jumped, then grabbed the wheel and pulled the cruiser over to the curb. Once the car came to a stop, Judy put her head into her paws and sobbed. She felt Nick's paw on her back, rubbing slow circles as he mumbled nonsense soothing words. Once the storm of tears had subsided, she lifted her head and sniffed, then coughed. Before she could even think of what to say, she felt Nick's arms go around her and hold her tightly. She hiccuped, feeling her ears turn red. Her tearstained face was mashed against his chest, so she _felt_ him speak, a low vibration. "It'll be okay," he said. "It's fine."  
Judy gave a watery laugh. "No, it's not fine," she said. "If we don't do this, you'll-"  
"Let's not talk about me right now." He let her go, and put his paws on her shoulders, leaning so that their eyes were on a level, violet staring into green. She tried not to blink.  
"What's wrong?"  
She shrugged, and his grip tightened. "Tell me."  
"I don't know," she sighed. "It's just... Things are so difficult right now, and..." Without her permission, the whole story came tumbling out. At the end of it, she was crying again, tears slipping out and trailing burning paths down her cheeks. "If we don't get through this," she choked, "I won't be able to live with myself. I just won't. And it just makes it a whole lot worse that I-" _That I love you, you dumb fox. Can't you see it on my face every time I look at you?_  
"That I'm so useless," she said instead, and sniffled. She looked up at him under her lashes, and saw him take a deep breath. He looked like he was steeling himself to do something that required a lot of bravery. The eyes he turned on her were unguarded suddenly, like doors to another world. He breathed. "Judy, I need to tell you something. I-"  
There was a shrill ring, cutting through Nick's words. They both looked at the walkie-talkie whose buttons glowed green. It rang again. Nick picked it up and put it to his ear, the unguarded expression wiped away, a coolly blank mask replacing it. "Yes?" he asked, and Judy deflated. What had he been about to say? Now she would never know. She heard him say a few things about position, and things that didn't really matter, to her at least. Then he put the walkie-talkie away, and sighed. "We have to get going now," he said. She nodded, wiping her face with a tissue and drinking some water from the bottle on the dashboard. "I'm fine."  
He nodded. "Let me drive," he said, and finding no point in arguing, she agreed. Five minutes later, they were heading back, leaving their rare moment of shared vulnerability behind.

Nick's ears were ringing tinnily. He couldn't even concentrate on the driving, his body on autopilot. Those last few moments in the car had robbed him of his senses. Half of him wanted desperately for Judy to know how he felt about her. The other half was glad the stupid walkie-talkie had rung. He wanted to get it out of the way, and yet he still felt that she would reject him, and that their friendship would be damaged beyond repair. He wouldn't be able to live with that, so he went for option two- being grateful that the device has made its presence known.  
They reached HQ, and met with Bogo in his office. The conversation went something like this-

__**Bogo:** Detectives Wilde and Hopps, what can you tell me about the information you collected these past few days about the case?  
**Nick:** Well, chief, I can say that the ice cream joint near Rainforest District sells one fine blueberry sundae, and that it rains a lot there, let me tell you, we were soaked. Ice cream was still good though, nothing against that.  
**Bogo:** Wilde, so help me, if you do not shut your trap, I will give you parking duty for a year. One year! And Hopps will commence the case.  
**Nick:** Didn't mean anything, chief, just trying to lighten the mood.  
**Judy:** Nick, keep quiet. Sir, we found out the precise details of the murder, and a full description of the assailant-  
**Bogo:** Why do we need a full description when we have Wilde here?  
**Nick:** Ouch. Thanks, chief.  
**Bogo:** Anytime, Wilde. Hopps, you were saying?  
**Judy:** Anyway! We also found out that the murderer is connected to something underground, so we'll focus on that tomorrow.  
**Bogo:** Fine. Dismissed! Leave. Go home. Sleep. Whatever. I don't care. Just go.  
**Nick:** On the double, sir.  
**Bogo:** Wilde, shut your mouth!  
**Nick:** Sir, yes sir.

____

Judy dragged Nick away before Bogo could give him a century's worth of parking duty, and hauled him outside. "Dumb fox," she said. "You really don't know how to keep your mouth shut, do you."  
He smirked. "Nope, never learned that one in prep school. Oh, wait. I never _went_ to prep school. Or college, for that matter." He grinned. "Guess being a cop just needs domination, desperation and despair, or whatever that motto is."  
Judy laughed aloud. "It's _dedication, determination_ and _dauntless,_ Nick." She giggled. "I'd have thought 'memory of a fox' would carry you a little further than domination, desperation and despair, don't you think?"  
He made a face at her. "It's memory of an elephant, Judy." He smiled wickedly.  
"Har har."  
"No, really," he said, feigning innocence. "I remember a certain, _cute_ bunny telling me just that." He deliberately used the word 'cute', knowing how much she hated it. Sure enough, Judy seethed. "Don't call me cute."  
"Okay. How about... Adorable?"  
"No."  
"Hmm... Little?"  
_"No."_  
"Dear?"  
"What? No!"  
"Okay, that was a little weird," Nick admitted. "What about... Endearing?"  
"Nope. Not satisfied." She was grinning now. Nick frowned.  
"Winsome. Charming. Sweet." He smiled, but she shook her head, batting her lashes. "Won't you shower me with some more compliments? I could get used to this..."  
She was smiling in earnest, amethyst eyes glittering with amusement. She left him a little tongue-tied. The next words came tumbling out without his permission.  
"Lovely. Pretty- no, beautiful." He blinked. Had he really just said that?  
Judy's eyes widened, and she blushed. Nick smiled at the pink tinge in her ears. "Satisfied now?" he asked, and she looked up at him. "Yep." She grinned. "Handsome fox." She exaggerated a wink. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a swooping sort of feeling in his stomach. _It's that sandwich I had for lunch,_ he thought. Judy grinned at him. _Definitely the sandwich._  
Judy was still speaking. "Tomorrow, I was thinking of going to..." She dropped her voice to a stage whisper. _"Mr. Big."_ She smiled confidently. "I know he'll help us, and plus, he's got so many connections, we'll get some sort of lead."  
Nick laughed. "Oh, by all means, be my guest. We'll be iced before you can say anything at all." Judy's smile bloomed like a flower in the semi-darkness.  
"We'll just have to wait and see."

_It was dark in the alley, but the fox could see perfectly, see the bits of paper as they were tossed about by the wind, hear the muted sounds of the city, always awake, even in the dead of night. He reached the little clapboard house, looking back every other second to see if he was being tailed. Satisfied that he was alone on the street, he rapidly ascended the stairs to reach the second floor. The first floor was full of debris, wires hanging from the ceiling and colorful explosions of graffiti everywhere. Designed to make your eyes skip right over it, he thought wryly, and opened the door on the second floor._  
_He saw the shadow- Omega- at the opposite end, cloaked in darkness as usual, mask on. His blue eyes burned in the dark. They glowed like will-o'-the-wisps, beckoning him towards them, yet threatening to vanish if he came too close. He stopped in the center of the room._  
_"I did as you asked." His voice was, as usual, smoother than water. Crisp. Efficient. Professional. The shadow shifted. "Good. The target is marked, and each time we strike, we step closer to home, don't we?" He laughed. The fox smiled too. He thrived on chaos and destruction, and excelled at impersonation. Which was exactly why Omega had called him._  
_The fox spoke again."I have a question. The rabbit." His voice curled around the word, languid and hungry. "She's always with him. Should I-?"_  
_"No, the rabbit you may leave. Kill her if you wish, I do not care. I want the red-furred devil and no one else. And make no mistake, I want him alive." The fox bowed his head in agreement, then spoke again. "We still haven't discussed the subject of payment," he said casually. "My...favors are what one would hardly call cheap."_  
_The shadow growled. "How much do you want?"_  
_The fox sucked on his teeth in relish, stepping closer and dropping his voice in a low purr. "With your permission, of course- if the opportunity should present itself, I would like to keep her- the rabbit- as a prize." The shadow's teeth glinted as he smiled. "Predatory instinct, fox?"_  
_He shrugged fluidly. "Hardly. Just... As a toy. It will be most amusing. For me," he added, teeth bared. Omega turned away. "Very well. You may keep the rabbit." There was a pregnant pause. Then:_  
_"You know where to do it?" The fox nodded. "Yes. Everything is ready."_  
_"Excellent. Until next time, then, fox."  
When he turned back a second later, the room was empty. _

__

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__

Judy didn't mind the cold.  
Even if she came from a farm where it was usually sunny, it didn't really bother her. Her fur wasn't too thick, but that didn't bother her either. If anything, she liked cold. It woke her up, made her senses sharper, her pace quicker. Now, Nick on the other hand, he minded the freezing temperatures in Tundratown. He was shivering ever so slightly, and his misted breath was shorter than usual. And when they parked the cruiser to walk the last couple of hundred meters, she swore she could see him shiver when his feet touched the snow. When she asked him about it, he'd brushed her off, saying, "Carrots, I melted jumbo pops in Tundratown for _twenty years._ That's approximately the amount of time you've been alive. So no, I am not cold."  
They trudged in the powdery snow until they came to the huge building surrounded by polar bears that was the humble dwelling of the most feared crime boss in Tundratown, and arguably, the whole of Zootopia: Mr. Big.  
Nick was muttering. "Get ready to be iced, Carrots. I'm telling you, he does not appreciate being approached in daylight hours, or any hour, really. You may think he owes you, but he's probably forgotten, and he'll just say, 'Meh. Ice 'em', and we'll be dead."  
She shook her head, knowing that the Arctic Shrew would not ice her, but would help. Without replying to Nick, who was still muttering, she bravely approached a polar bear guard and said, loudly, "Excuse me!"  
The polar bear slowly looked down at her, lips curling back in a snarl. Or it could have been a smile. Really, with the bears employed by Mr. Big, you never know.  
"What do you want, little rabbit?"  
Judy puffed out her chest, but before she could say anything, she heard a voice behind her. "Kevin! Hey, buddy, it's me, Nick." Judy and the bear- Kevin -turned around, looking at Nick smiling pleasantly. Kevin looked puzzled, then scowled. Nick went on, still smiling. "Anyway, great chat, bud, but my partner and I really need to speak to the boss. So, if you'd be so kind." He gestured to the chain barring their way. The bear grunted and walked away. Judy was opening her mouth to call out when she felt Nick's paw on her arm. "Don't," he hissed. "He's going in to ask for permission."  
Sure enough, a moment later, Kevin returned, and promptly, he opened the chain without another word. Nick grinned at him as they went in, and received a scowl in return.  
After winding through the dizzying array of corridors, they chanced upon the right door. Nick knocked loudly, and a huge bear answered it, dressed in the signature tux that marked him out as an employee of the shrew. He stepped aside, and they approached the desk that held the tiny chair that held the tiny crime boss (with a huge ego, as Nick had said).  
They said nothing, knowing that even the tiniest mistakes could drastically go south. Choosing her words carefully, Judy spoke. "Mr. Big, sir," she said. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but we need your help."  
"Meh." He examined his microscopic fingernails. Judy ploughed on. "Sir, being the most feared crime boss in Zootopia, you must have heard about the murder in Sahara Square...?"  
"I do know," the little shrew said. "And I shall help you. I feel that no mater how many times I favor you, you will still owe me. My daughter is very precious to me." Behind her, Nick rolled his eyes discreetly. "I know that the murderer isn't acting of his own accord," Mr. Big continued.  
They kept silent, waiting for an explanation.  
"I mean that someone has employed a fox to kill that mammal," he clarified. Nick stepped forward, coming in line with Judy. "Sir, I'm sure you've heard, that the fox is identical in appearance to me." She could see what it cost him, to say it aloud, and know it to be true.  
"I believe someone out there doesn't like you very much, Nicky," sighed Mr. Big. "And I can't imagine why." Judy turned her laugh into a hacking cough. Nick scowled at her.  
Recovering, Judy said, "Sir, if you know anything, Nick and I need to hear it, because if we don't clear his name..." The sentence hung in the air, unfinished.  
Me. Big looked grave. Or, at least, she thought he looked grave. It was hard to tell, what with his features being as small as her nails. "I see," he murmured, "I know something about this murder. It won't stop here."  
Judy drew in a sharp breath. She was so surprised she forgot all caution and formality. "What do you mean?"  
"It means," said Mr. Big. "That there will be another just like it. And make no mistake." He directed his next words to Nick. "You walk on thin ice, Nicky. Be prepared."

They trudged back to the cruiser in silence. Nick felt tighter and tighter every day. If he kept it up, he'd break apart into shards. He knew one thing, and that was that if they wanted information, they had to go to someone he knew would know. He liked to be in the thick of things, Finnick. He may have seemed harmless when you saw him on that road, but you have no idea it was him who picked your pocket. He sighed. He hadn't seen the Fennec since he joined the force, and he had no idea what he thought of the arrangement, nor what he thought of Judy. He had been like Nick's older brother, mashed with mentor and just a friend, also a fellow partner in crime and con. Now Nick was a cop, and he had no idea where Finnick was.  
Yes, things were very smooth down that alley.  
As they peeled away from Tundratown, Nick stared out the window, watched the snow and ice in shades of white and blue melt away, and the explosion of green and brown that was Rainforest District replace it. Slowly that too faded, and the burning gold and orange of Sahara Square came into view. Zootopia was the most diverse place, and yet within the system like poison flowed an undercurrent of more sinister things. He supposed that to counter all that glamour there had to be crime. It was the way of the world, to balance things.  
"I have no idea what to do now," Judy admitted, breaking him out of his stupor. "Nick?"  
He turned away from the window. "Yeah..." He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, Carrots, you may not like this, but we're going to have to ask Finnick. He'll know, I'm sure about it. He'd have managed somehow to get information."  
Judy didn't look at him, eyes trained in the road but crinkling at the corners in worry. "Fine, okay, but... Do you know where he is?"  
Nick thought. He thought for quite a while. Then it hit him. "Yeah. I know. Park the car, Carrots, I'm going to drive."

Nick carefully pulled up the cruiser, quickly cutting off the engine to quell any noise. It was high noon in the heart of the city, but this part of town was always dank, dark and unwelcoming. Nick did not want to bring Judy, but knew that he had to. The last time he has been here was so long ago, the memory had nearly faded. Seedy plots bloomed here like poisonous flowers, and it was the crime capital of Zootopia. Judy was whispering. "What would Finnick be doing here?"  
Nick whispered back. "He's always been respected here. He brought me here once, and it wasn't the best day of my life. He always joked about the fact that if I ever ditched him and left, he'd strike up a business here. I'm sure he'll be around here somewhere."  
"A business?" Judy asked. "What sort of business?"  
Nick grinned. "Probably something Illegal. Come on, let's go."  
He made sure their badges and uniforms were visible as they headed up the street. The denizens of this particular area weren't too keen to get on the bad side of the cops, and this would protect them.  
A few blocks up, Nick spotted it. The van, in all it's hideous glory. He nudged Judy and pointed at it, and her eyes widened. She looked at him, unsure, then Nick was striding up to the van. He heard her gasp and whisper, "Nick, wait!"  
But he had already knocked. There was a scrambling thump, then the doors were flung open, and a familiar deep voice yelled, "Who's there? If it's you again, Ratson, I'mma-" he swung his baseball bat, and Nick ducked it with the casual grace of years of practice. His paw darted up and grabbed the bat, yanking it from Finnick's grip. "Well, well," he smiled. "Long time no see, bud."  
Finnick looked honestly surprised, his brown eyes widening, then narrowing. "Nick? What're you doin' here? You're a cop," he said, snatching back his bat.  
"I'm aware of that," replied Nick. Then Finnick spotted Judy. "It's the rabbit," he said loudly, and Nick cringed. "Oh no. You're here to ask me, aren't you? I shoulda known you'd come." He sighed. "Well, you ain't gonna get nothin' outta me. I don't know jack."  
"Liar," Nick said, leaning against the door. "Of course you know. You'd have managed somehow. Go on, spit it out. Because if you don't..." He drew a line across his neck with his finger, and Finnick rolled his eyes. "Sure," he muttered. "Con turns cop, then acts like he got the key to the city. Look here, Nick, I toldja. I'm not-"  
"Finnick, please." It was Judy. "I know you know what's at stake here. We need your help." Her eyes were huge and pleading, but underneath he saw a layer of steel. Finnick saw it too, and slumped in defeat. "I know," he said in a low voice. "I bought the info off some swindling hog. Dunno if he was lying, but it's worth a shot." He shrugged. Nick and Judy shared a meaningful look, and Finnick caught it, grinning. "It's like a story," he said, laughing. "The fox and the bunny, two cops tryin' to save the world." He laughed again. Nick rolled his eyes. "Okay, thanks Finnick. What do you know?"  
The Fennec grinned. "There's some underground don kinda guy, real secretive, comes down here in a coat and hood and mask the other week, asking for an assassin. A fox assassin in particular. Called himself Omega. Whatever's going on, this guy is who you need. Nobody knows who he is, where he lives, nobody even knows how he looks. But maybe if you hang around, he'll show. Good luck to ya," he concluded, jumping into the van. "Cause, you two're gonna need it. That's all I know, and you'd better be glad you knew me, Nick, cause information ain't cheap round here." Just before he slammed the door, he leaned in and muttered something in Nick's ear, too quietly for Judy to hear. _Then_ he slammed the door, very loudly.  
Jury frowned up at Nick. "What did he tell you? Just before he closed the doors?"  
Nick took a deep breath. "He told me," he said. "Where the next body dump is going to be."

The car drive back to Precinct One was quiet and muted, neither of them speaking. Judy was driving, but only half her mind was concentrated on it, the other half whirling in chaos. Nick had told her what Finnick had said, that the next body would turn up at the Spots and Stripes bar in Savanna Central. She sighed. For them to catch the assassin, they would have to be on stakeout. She hated stakeouts. They demanded wakefulness and energy, and patience. She also didn't like that seedy part of town they'd just visited. The fact that they'd have to stakeout there too didn't make her the happiest rabbit in Zootopia.  
She felt a sudden rush of homesickness, alarming in its intensity. Where had that other life gone, that normal, everyday life that asked for nothing more but peace? She could have been laughing with her family while farming carrots, but instead she was a police officer, in a huge city, side by side with a fox. She smiled to herself. The parallel was so vast, and yet there it was. But she knew that if she had the option of going back to that old life, she'd refuse. There was something wonderful about the hair-raising rush of adrenaline, the chaos of Zootopia, the risk of being a cop. She loved her job too much to even think of an alternate happy ending for herself.  
And there was Nick. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was bobbing his head to the music playing in the stereo, the sunlight glinting off his badge, racing up the frames of his aviators, turning them into a flash of gold.  
No. Normal life was not an option.  
Slowly, she returned to the world from her racing thoughts, parking carefully at Precinct One. They headed in, making their way over to Clawhauser, who was busy helping a client. Once he'd finished, he waved at them. "Did you guys get any leads?"  
"Yep." Judy grinned. "Plenty. We know whose behind it, kind of, and we know where the next body dump is going to be too." The cheetah grinned. "That's great! But..." His smile faded. "You said... Next body dump? There's going to be another?"  
"Unfortunately, yes," Nick interjected. "We thought it was a serial killer, but it turns out there's some underground boss who's organizing it, hired an assassin and everything. It's pretty bad."  
Clawhauser looked alarmed. "Someone hired an assassin who looks just like you?"  
"Looks like it. Maybe it was a coincidence, I don't know."  
"Hey, guys!" A voice rang out from behind them. They turned to see Wolfard, eyes full of cheerfulness, walking towards them with Fangmeyer. "I heard you got some pretty big leads. That's great."  
"Yeah," Judy said. "It is great. I hope we'll be able to catch this Omega guy before anything terrible happens."  
Something flickered in Wolfard's eyes. His fur suddenly blanched. She looked closer, suspicious. "What's wrong, Wolfard?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."  
He shook his head. "I've heard that name before," he said. "Omega. I don't know where, but I have." He suddenly grabbed Nick's arm, lightning fast. Nick didn't react, just looked down at Wolfard's paw encircling his arm, then raised his green eyes to the wolf's blue ones. "Promise me you'll be careful," Wolfard said in a low, rough voice. "Whoever this guy is, he's dangerous. I don't want either of you getting hurt." Nick nodded slowly. "We'll be careful."  
Wolfard freed his arm. "Good." Then he smiled again. He was such a strange mammal, Judy thought. He loved comics and books and movies, and was a total nerd when it came to that stuff, but when the situation required it, he would harden, turning into something else. It was brief, but obvious. Fangmeyer had noticed too; his brows had shot upward, and he looked dubious. Clawhauser just looked confused. Judy couldn't blame him.  
"So whose up for some discussion about the newest _War of the Mammals_ comic that came out yesterday?" Wolfard grinned.  
Everyone groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Liked it? Great! Let me know. Didn't like it? Still great! Let me know, though.  
> ;-) <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends, tiny flats and paperwork. Zootopia hangs by a thread, the public in ignorant bliss, the ZPD struggling to right things, and two mammals smiling at the chaos they have created. Our dynamic duo doesn't feel too dynamic at the moment, but they appear to be managing things slowly but surely. If they don't pick up pace, they will fall behind. And if they do, they might just as well wave goodbye to everything they hold dear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, for all of you who were waiting. I had some things I had to attend to, and unfortunately, chapter 5 will be taking as long, if not longer still. Apologies on my behalf. This was my first attempt at an OC, so hope you like her as much as I loved writing her! Let me know what you guys think, 'kay?

There was a companionable silence as Nick and Judy headed to her place, but her heart fluttered when he held the door open for her, and it fluttered again when he closed it behind him, sealing them in her house together. It fluttered yet again when he sat down next to her on the couch. She swallowed thickly. "Today was a good day," she said, and earned a smile. "It was," he agreed.  
There was a silence. Judy wanted more than anything else, to tell him how she felt about him, but found her words blocked. She couldn't bring herself to say them. She imagined herself turning to Nick, smiling up at him and saying, _"You know what, I'm tired of hiding it. I love you, Nick Wilde. I have for a year."_  
Who was she kidding? There was no way she could say it. She wasn't brave enough, not by half. She looked at him, and with a slight shock, realized he was staring at her too. Their eyes met and held, and the moment stretched on for forever. Then she felt his paw on her waist, lingering and caressing. The sensation whipped through her like electricity. He leaned towards her, his other paw cupping her cheek, tender and soft, and she tipped her head up, eyes closing automatically. They breathed the same breath- or they would have, if she could remember to breathe. She placed a tentative paw on his shoulder, and it acted like a switch, firing sensation through her whole body. Her paw tightened on his shoulder, and she sat up, their eyes now on a level. She could see desire in his green irises, mirroring her own as she opened them. She was pure feeling and nothing else. She felt like she wasn't in her body, but rather was watching someone else. That was what gave her the bravery to lean forward and boldly fit her lips to his.  
She blinked, disoriented, rising from the daydream. She looked around belatedly, realizing that Nick was next to her on the couch, stretching and yawning and saying something about going to bed. She stood clumsily, still shaking bits of the dream off. It has been so vivid, and so... Unreal. That's why it had been a dream, she supposed.  
"You should get to bed," she heard Nick say. "You look really tired."  
She nodded. "Yeah, I am. Long day, huh?" She rubbed at her eyes. "Anyway... See you in the morning."  
"Night, Carrots," she heard him say, then she turned and walked away to her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she sagged against it. It was hopeless. She would never stop pining after that fox. Love was supposed to make you happy, wasn't it? So why did she feel so sad?

Nick watched as Judy closed her bedroom door, feeling wretched. She had been staring at him on the couch, eyes large and dark and unfocused, like she was asleep on her feet. He was pretty observant, and had noticed the looks she was giving him lately, like she hoped he wouldn't notice. Looks from the corner of her eye, when he was driving, while he'd been speaking with Finnick. He remembered that terrible moment in the car when she'd fallen apart, and when he'd held her, he'd felt the hitch in her breath and the tense coil of her body, and her whole posture had told him clearly that she enjoyed the contact that he so rarely offered. He was cautious; if he so much as touched her, he knew he would lose his self control. A fox can only resist for so long. He was, he thought, too old for her. And plus, what would her family think? He'd never even met them, though when Judy muzzle-timed, he'd said hello more than once, and she'd told them about him. He'd had crushes before, and it was normal, but this was different, he knew. This wasn't a crush. Even the strong love he'd felt had taken a sharp turn into something else, something more...physical and carnal and hungry. He didn't like it, how he wanted her, but he did want her, and he could hardly deny it. He sighed and stretched himself out over the couch, closing his eyes and falling into sleep with Judy's scent all over the air, comforting him.  
When he opened his eyes again, it was morning. He sat up, realizing too late that he'd slept in his uniform. It was crinkled and messy, and looked horrible. He sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face. Wake up and smell the coffee, you stupid fox, he thought. He'd been blind about so many things. Judy, the case...  
After getting dressed in his usual Hawaiian shirt that he was oddly fond of and the purple and black striped tie Judy hated passionately, he felt some semblance of normalcy. He thought of making coffee, then wondered if Judy would kill him for using her coffee machine without her permission. Then he thought, _who cares?_ and made the coffee anyway. He was sitting, sipping it, when he heard Judy emerge from the bathroom. Since the time he'd seen her in in only a towel, she'd taken to changing in the bathroom, so she was fully dressed when she joined him near the kitchen. As expected, she made a face when she saw him.  
"Nick, what are you wearing?"  
He shrugged. "Slept in my uniform." He pointed to the navy blue mess of wrinkles that was, sadly, his uniform. Judy scowled at it, then set her coffee cup down and headed towards it. She spoke over her shoulder as she went. "Where would you be if it weren't for me, I wonder."  
He sipped his coffee, delicately ignoring her. Until she disappeared into her bedroom and reemerged about ten minutes later with his uniform- spotless and neat and wrinkle-free. He goggled at her. "Carrots, what did you do?"  
She scoffed, not kindly. "What do you think I did? I ironed your uniform, and now it is pristine, as usual." She smiled and handed it to him. He felt an unusual rush of affection, and took it, speechless. She picked up her mug and sipped, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He stared at her. "You ironed my uniform for me?"  
She raised a brow. "What you mean is, of course, 'Thank you, Judy, for ironing my uniform for me'." She detached herself from the counter and grinned at him. He shook his head at her in reply. When would he stop owing her, and feeling like no matter how hard he tried, he would never really deserve her?

The ride to HQ was normal, much to Nick's relief. They bought a couple of donuts off the corner shop that they often paid clandestine visits to while they were on duty, eating them on the way. It was moments like this, where they were both laughing with the sweet smell of sugar in the air and sunlight slanting through the windows warming their faces, when he felt that maybe, just maybe, he could forget about how he felt and they could go back to being friends, like they were before. But then he saw her eyes as they caught the light of the sun, the different shades of violet and purple and amethyst leaping out, and her ruffled fur as she brushed crumbs out of it, and he knew that he would never, ever be able to live if they remained just friends.  
Judy turned for a moment, taking her eyes off the road for a second to look at him. They were stuck in traffic near Savanna Central, and their windows were rolled down, the sounds of city life leaking through them; music from neighboring cars' stereos, the sound of a thousand pedestrians talking at once, the sound of a thousand cars honking at once. It had been difficult for Judy in the beginning, a farm girl in the city and unused to such noise, that even in the dead of night, Zootopia was never silent. Nick was a born and bred in the city, and didn't really mind. He even liked it. The absence of shouting and honking to Judy was pleasant; to him it was eerie.  
The light turned green, and the car sped towards HQ. Nick leaned back and watched the elevated tracks of the train and the car that sped on it. He never really liked the train. It went too fast for his taste; Nick liked things at a slower, surer pace, including his transport.  
They walked into Precinct One and were instantly waved over frantically by Clawhauser. Judy was fowning when they reached him. "What's the matter?" she asked, her ears rising.  
"Chief Bogo said he wanted an emergency meeting with you two. He's not in the greatest of moods, let me tell you," he went on in a hushed voice, looking right and left to see if any vexed Cape Buffaloes were listening in. "He just slammed his way in and yelled-"  
"Wilde! Hopps!"  
All three of them slowly looked up to see none other than Chief Bogo himself, standing at the railing with a murderous look on his face. He pointed to his office door, and the fox and rabbit had only enough time to share one apprehensive look before they headed towards the office.  
Nick opened the door, trying not to hesitate. What had he done this time? It couldn't possibly have been the shaving cream prank he had pulled off; that was nigh on seven months ago. It also could not have been the honey and feathers prank either, and, besides, Wolfard had helped with that one. He and Judy sat down, Judy looking fearful.  
The chief scowled at them a few seconds. Then, he said, "Well, detectives Wilde and Hopps, I heard you got some leads." Nick was just perking up when:  
"Who cares."  
Nick wilted. Bogo pulled out his reading glasses and put them on, shuffling through some files. He looked up again. "And I also heard you approached one Mr. Big for information, and also a Finnick. Now," he continued, "I don't understand what makes the two of you go prancing around the whole city looking for information when we have a file of information about this Omega right here in records!" He slapped the file onto the table. Nick and Judy stared at it as if it had dropped from the moon.  
"He had a large underground business, shut down a couple of years ago by our officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer and Wolfard, but he had not yet retreated completely. Now he has struck again, in the form of these murders. Did you not know this, detectives?" He looked ready to breathe fire. Nick answered, unable to even think of a smart reply. "No, sir."  
"No. You didn't know, because you didn't think we'd have any information. Well, we do. And since you spent two days touring Zootopia, I think you can afford one day of pure file and record research, accessing the system for information."  
Judy looked horrified. The implications of the chief's words were unmistakable; they were, to put it commonly, grounded.  
"But, sir," she said desperately. "We got the location and time for the next murder- we also have to stakeout downtown, and-"  
"Hopps," interrupted Bogo. "When and where is the next murder going to be?"  
Judy wasted no time. "The Spots and Stripes bar at Savanna Central, day after tomorrow at 12:30 in the morning."  
"Precisely," Bogo said with a grim smile. "Day after tomorrow night. I think that for an undercover operation that will happen three days from now, you wouldn't need preparation as such. And the downtown stakeout can wait."  
Judy closed her mouth, her ears falling. She bowed her head and bit her lip. Bogo went on mercilessly. "Today, the two of you will stay here and research, and tomorrow you will do the same-"  
Judy opened her mouth again, ears rising and head flying up in protest, but Bogo held up a hoof to forestall her. "Unless," he said, "I am in a good mood. Then, you may do patrol. Detectives, do I make myself clear?"  
They nodded. "Yes, sir," they said in unison, and Bogo nodded, apparently satisfied. "Good. Dismissed!"  
They left the office, and the moment the door closed behind her, Judy groaned, running her paws through her ears. "I can't believe it," she complained as they walked towards records. "One, maybe two whole days of boring research and files and computers." She scrubbed at her face with her paws. "What a disaster."  
"Not a total loss, though," Nick said absentmindedly. "I mean, there's that undercover thing in a few days, and if that goes badly, a stakeout."  
"Oh, no," Judy said suddenly, stopping in the middle of the lobby. Nick frowned back at her. "What?"  
"It's undercover," she said. "That means... Dressing up and acting like someone else." Nick shook his head, confused. "Yeah. So?" Judy jogged up to him. "I don't know what it means, but if the others are in charge of it," she said, looking towards the gaggle of officers who crowded the front desk. "It'll be nothing but trouble."

Judy was going crazy. They'd been doing paperwork for only a few hours, but to her it felt like an eternity. It was a monotonous, continuous flow of reading, sorting and gathering, over and over. Nick was scratching his ears, saying, "How come we didn't even find out from Wolfard that this guy existed?"  
Judy rifled through a couple of papers, frowning. "Well, it says here that he was operating under a different alias when they brought him down, and he's cropped up again as Omega. They launched an investigation here while we were out, I guess, and they found out."  
Nick frowned, leaning back in his chair so that the legs tilted dangerously. His tail brushed her foot, ever so slightly, and it felt like an electric spark; she drew away instinctively. "Well," Nick said, yawning widely and displaying all his teeth. "What was he called before?"  
Judy handed him the paper, and he read through it. He looked up a moment later. "Aegis? Seems a little pretentious, don't you think?" He handed her the sheet, and she shrugged. "I guess," she said, scribbling on a piece of paper. "Anyway, this could help. Now that we have his old name-"  
"Remember what Finnick said?" asked Nick, leaning forward. "He said nobody knows anything about him. Well, now we know who he used to be, but that doesn't make a difference because Finnick also mentioned that he shows up with a hood and mask and stuff. This old name stuff could get us even more confused." He leaned back again, stretching. "So let's just forget about it." Judy's brows furrowed, lines of confusion and worry painting themselves across her face. "But then we'll-"  
She was saved answering by the sudden appearance of Fangmeyer, who was holding a small cup that smelled strongly of the coffee available at Precinct One- a bland, milky mixture that tasted, according to Judy, like her mother's 'special vitamin drink'. And no, that was _not_ a good thing. Nick claimed it tasted like wood, though she had no idea how he would know how wood tasted. The tiger was frowning at them. "You guys are dealing with that Omega, right? He used to be called-"  
"Yeah, Aegis, we know," Nick interrupted, the legs of his chair hitting the ground with a clack. "You helped get rid of him, didn't you?"  
Fangmeyer nodded, sipping the coffee. "Yep- Grizzoli, Wolfard and I. It was a really difficult case. Not physically, but mentally."  
Judy set the file down, her interest perked. "Mentally?"  
He nodded sagely, setting the cup down. "It was tough, what with the blackmail and all he'd sent. It was worst for Wolfard. He'd had some traumatizing experience in his childhood that the guy somehow knew about. It was really bad. He's all right now, but-" he shook his head. "Something in him will never forget, you know?"  
Beside her, Nick's ears had flattened slightly. His eyes were dark with memory and his expression vacant but deadly sharp at the same time. "Yeah," he said, almost absentmindedly. "I know." Judy looked at him with concern. She was among the very few who knew about Nick's past, and also knew that he could get very emotional when it came to that, but emotional in a different way. Some shed tears, some got angry (Judy was subject to both) and some tried to forget. Nick just withdrew. It was rare that he spoke of it, and even Fangmeyer looked a little interested. The fox officer with a lot of secrets did tend to get a lot of attention. "Anyway," Nick continued, the vacant expression vanishing instantly. "What else happened?"  
Fangmeyer shrugged. "Well, we tracked him down. He was hiding in Sahara Square, in a little den. We managed to kick him out, and he just vanished. We did a lot of internal research through our intelligence officials and got to know that he's the guy you want."  
Judy, who was scribbling this down, looked up. "Didn't you guys arrest him?"  
The tiger shook his head. "Of course we tried. The guy had about sixty backup mammals, not to mention weapons- legal ones," he added, nodding at them. "It was five against fifty, so we were forced to retreat. He got away, but we did shut him down." He picked up his coffee cup. "He's dangerous, like Wolfard said. You guys had better keep an eye out. Two, if you can manage it. This won't be as easy as the Night Howlers case. Good luck." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving a hushed silence in his wake.  
Judy sat back and reviewed the notes she'd taken, skimming over the important things. "Looks like we're in a bit of a mess, huh?" she asked, flinging the paper onto the table. "This is hopeless. I think we're going to have to wing it until the undercover."  
Nick nodded, picking up the sheet. He was reading it and Judy was sitting and staring at the wall when her phone rang. They both glanced at it. Nick caught Judy's exasperated eye roll, and said, "Your parents? You should pick that up."  
She shrugged, disconnecting the call. "Not in the mood," she said. What she didn't want to tell him was that she had been deliberately avoiding her parents for the past week, unable to face them with the truth of what had happened, and what they were facing. They may have accepted that her career as a cop in Zootopia was not a safe one, but they were always willing to draw a line, and they would definitely do so for this. She switched off her phone and slid it aside.  
Nick frowned at her. "Do your parents know about all this?"  
She bit her lip, than said, "Don't be stupid, Nick, of course I told them." The lie flowed from her lips with more ease than she had expected. She looked down, then up slightly, so that her eyelashes feathered down and cut faint black lines into her vision. Nick shrugged, looking uncomfortable. Judy felt her own ears grow warm. Since when did they both lie so easily? And to each other? To make herself feel less awkward, she reached for the paper with her notes on it. Nick reached for it too, and they ended up grabbing the paper at the same time. They looked at each other, then away, then both let go of the sheet in unison. Judy's ears felt like they were on fire. Nick looked like he was ready to spontaneously combust, but they both managed an awkward laugh, then Judy grabbed a notepad, and Nick grabbed the computer, and they both hastened to be busy. She tried to concentrate, but her mind refused to sit still. She hated how awkward things were with her and Nick. They'd been so synchronized and seamless before, but her stupid emotions got in the way of things. Why couldn't she just forget how she felt and restore their friendship? She glanced at him discreetly. He was staring st the screen, which lit his fur and turned it blue. He was biting his tongue slightly, white canines glinting. She looked away hastily, feeling hot and shivery and odd. She felt so lost, in a wide sea of so many things. She felt reality slipping away from her, and soon she would lose her hold on everything she loved.  
The pencil slipped in her paw, jerking across the paper and leaving a long gray skid across the sheet. The resulting noise made Nick turn his head and look at her, brows raised. She shook her head in response. "I'm so sleepy," she said as explanation, not entirely untruthful. Her eyelids were drooping, and they'd been in records for the whole day. She rubbed at them, blinking away the sleep-induced mist that blurred her vision. When the world came back into focus, Nick was standing, switching off the computer. "Yeah. Let's head back."  
They left Precinct One, not speaking. It wasn't a companionable silence. It was downright awkward, and strange. Judy tried to poke holes through the thick wall separating them, but failed. It was driving her crazy. Nothing would ever be the same between them again. The thought brought a wave of sadness with it. She bit her lip and glanced at Nick, who was twirling her car keys in his paws. "So," Judy said. "Want to get some takeout and get it back to my place?"  
Nick looked at her, half lost in his head. "Hmm? Oh. Yeah, sounds good." He turned away.  
_I'm losing him,_ she thought. "Nick?" she said in a small voice. He didn't hear her.  
_Going, going, gone._

Nick's thoughts were shooting every which way, so many things crowding in his head that he couldn't focus on one thing at a time. Since Nick liked seeing the big picture, he tried to process everything at once. He was beginning to realize that that was the wrong path to go down.  
Judy had lapsed into silence, not even looking at him. She was picking at her takeout in a desolate sort of way, and left her box of noodles finished halfway, sliding it away from her with a sickened expression, as if she couldn't bear to look at it. "'M going to hit the sack," she muttered, and without waiting for a reply, or a goodnight, she slouched away.  
Nick methodically swept the takeout containers into a trash bag, cleaning the floor. He put Judy's leftovers in a bowl and put it in the fridge, and felt a hopeless pang. It seemed like the sort of domestic everyday chores two married people might do for each other. Even when Judy ironed his uniform for him. And when he'd made dinner for her when she fell asleep on the couch after a long day a few weeks ago. Now things were so... Thick between them, sluggish and slow.  
He tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Too many things were keeping him up. He cautiously peeked into Judy's room, and to his relief, she was fast asleep, a small form curled on the blankets. He felt another pang. She had always been thin-skinny, even- but now she looked shrunken.  
He drew away and proceeded to leave the flat. He needed to walk to clear his head, and nobody usually walked around at- he checked the time- 1:50 in the morning.  
Outside, the air was cool but not biting, and the sky was a starless, cloudless black, the precise color of black ink. Faint light pollution spilled into the atmosphere, along with sound.  
He walked quickly, leaving the quiet, still and peaceful residential area behind him, and rounded the corner. The city exploded around him, starbursts of color dancing and lingering in the air, filling his vision. Neon signs blinked at him, and the occasional pedestrian stood out in hues of yellow, blue and green. Places that were closed during daylight hours came to life now- casinos, bars, taverns, inns. He stilled, soaking in the sensory sights and sounds of a never-calm city. He inhaled deeply, relaxing. This was his city. He belonged here. It was his home, and he knew he would always, always come back to it. He headed to a familiar tavern, feeling his muzzle relax into a smile as he walked through the swinging front doors. From outside, it looked like an old brick building that desperately needed renovation. The Single Stag wasn't much from the outside- but then again, nothing was. He descended the rickety stairs and emerged into a crammed, smoke-filled space, full of shouting and smoking and drinking. He stopped at the counter, grinning at the badger that stood opposite. She looked up and her eyes widened, her lips pulling immediately into a welcoming smile. "Nick!" She had to yell because otherwise, she wouldn't be heard over the din. "By my whiskers, is that really you?" He nodded, leaning in. "The same," he replied, and she slid a drink over the counter. He was one of her few regulars who didn't drink alcohol, and she had his order memorized. She shook her black and white striped head. "And there was me thinking I'd never see you again," she chortled. "I thought you forgot."  
Nick downed his mild drink. "I'd never forget this place. Or you." He winked at her, and she rolled her brown eyes, but she was still smiling.  
This part of town was Nick's favourite, and he always felt at ease there. He'd stumbled upon the Single Stag when he was lost once, and needed directions. He'd met Sheila, who was nineteen then. She'd thought he was adorable, and had given him directions, and had persuaded him to try a strange mix of six juice flavours, vanilla essence and Diet Coke all mixed into one punch in the stomach, saying she had made it herself and it was her first mix. He'd drunk it and loved it, and instantly became a regular. He'd never taken Finnick there for some reason, delighting in the fact that it was his own little hideout. The last time he'd been here was- almost four years.  
He had sunken so deep into his nostalgia that he almost didn't hear when a deep voice yelled from a door behind the bar. "Sheila, whatchoo doin', girl, we ain't got no time for no chit chattin'! Get over here, you got work to do! And make it snappy!"  
Sheila rolled her eyes again, pointing at the door. "A barmaid's work is never done, huh? Anyway, it was great seeing ya, Nick, help yourself." She pointed at the drinks lined up near the counter. "Don't pay- I mean it," she added when he protested. Just before she left, he caught at her arm. "When does your shift get over?" She frowned. "At two. Why?" He looked around. "I wanted to catch up. You know," he clarified. "I haven't seen you in four years." Sheila laughed. "Sure thing, Nick. Wait outside, I'll be there in a jiffy." With a wink, she disappeared.  
Nick stood outside, the cold air ruffling his fur. He heard the doors creak, and a flushed Sheila emerged, dressed in a long blue coat with holes in the cuffs and collar, and worn sweats. She looked to him like a page right out of the first chapter of his life. It comforted him.  
"So," she said as they set off. "What brings you to this part of town in the middle of the night?" Nick shrugged. "Just needed to clear my head. Lots of stuff going on right now."  
Sheila studied him. Her face softened, a playful smile dancing across her face. "Girl trouble?"  
He spluttered as she laughed, then he regained his composure. "What makes you say that?"  
She shrugged. "I don't know, but I'd have thought you'd have settled down by now. You're a decent fox, and it's actually kinda surprising that you aren't hitched yet." Nick sighed. "Yeah?"  
"Yeah," she replied. "It isn't girl trouble, is it?"  
He said nothing. She nodded, as if coming to a decision. "It is girl trouble."  
"I didn't say that."  
"It's that rabbit," she said, ignoring him. There was a wondering realisation in her voice when she spoke again. "The one I always see you on TV with. Am I right?"  
Again, he remained silent. Sheila sighed. "Well- ain't no point denying it. When it's in your mouth, swallow, as I always say."  
"Spit," said Nick. "You could also spit."  
"Irrelevant," she said. "Anyway- let's start simple. Describe her. What's she like?"  
Nick fell silent, trying to sum up Judy Hopps in a couple of sentences. She was... she was too much for a couple of sentences. A couple of books was a better margin. He tried to start, and couldn't. He finally shrugged.  
"Good," laughed Sheila. "The better you know someone, the harder it is to describe them. You must know this girl pretty well. Hmm... have you met the 'rents yet?"  
His insides squirmed. "Well," he said delicately. "I would rather not go there."  
She stopped, staring at him. He looked back. "What?"  
"What have you gotten yourself into?" She fell into step with him and they went on their way, Sheila shaking her head in exasperation. Nick's eyelids were finally beginning to droop, and the first signs of sleep were showing; his dulled senses, the fading lights, the lull of Sheila's voice as she said, "You're in a bit of a pickle, if you haven't noticed. Guess you're gonna have to wing it or fling it."  
Nick sighed and dropped onto a bench lying in a pool of yellow light cast from the streetlight behind it. Sheila followed, patting his arm. "It could be a lot worse, you know."  
"Yeah," he said. "It could."

Nick let himself in the flat quietly, soundless as usual. He had promised Sheila that he would visit the Stag with Judy, and after a hug or two, they had parted. He was fond of the badger, and she could be counted on to lift his spirits. He washed his face and gazed at his reflection in the mirror. Dark shadows under his eyes, which were fading to a sort of pale jade. Matted fur. Chapped lips. Gaunt and pale. He looked like heartbreak.  
He looked into Judy's room again, and saw her sleeping, but she seemed restless. Suddenly she murmured, making him jump. She spoke, a random flow of words he couldn't decipher. She rolled over, then he saw the gleam of her eyes as they opened. She sat up slowly, catching sight of him at the door. "Nick?" Her voice was slurred and sleep-heavy, barely sounding like her own. "C'mere."  
He approached cautiously, trying not to look around, but seeing everything- the dresser, the mirror, the desk and chair. She grabbed his hand as he neared. "Where were you? I called, but you didn't come." Her voice had softened, curling around the words like mist. "I thought maybe you'd left..."  
Nick drew away, shaking his head. "C'mon, Carrots, I'd never leave. I just want for a walk."  
She fell back against the pillow, her eyes closing. "Don't... leave... Stay."  
"I will," he said, but she didn't hear him. She was already asleep.  
He stepped back, looking down at her. Sleep took away the lines of worry, smoothening them, making her look calmer. A deep ache rose inside him, a melancholy tide. It crested and fell, a wave breaking out to sea. He smiled and tucked the blanket around her, smoothing it down. She murmured and turned into the warmth but didn't wake. He left quietly, closing the door behind him. Strangely enough, the moment his head hit the pillow, he fell into sleep's waiting arms almost instantly.  
Light sliced through the darkness, forcing his eyelids open. He groaned and sat up, blinking in the sudden illumination. Standing at the curtains was Judy, hands on her hips. She was framed by light, a golden aura surrounding her like an angel's. "Nicholas Wilde," she thundered. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"  
The angelic aura faded, replaced by flickering anger. Nick sat up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Um..." He looked outside. Harsh sunlight pooled into the flat and fell onto the couch, warming it. He felt fuzzy and drowsy. "Seven?" he tried, with a weak smile. She did not return it. "It is eight thirty," she said, her tone authoritative. "And I already got a text-" her phone buzzed, and she checked it " _Two_ texts, from Clawhauser, saying that if we delay any longer, Chief Bogo will not be in a good mood. And you know what that means."  
He did. He gulped, leaping off the couch. "I'll be right there."  
After showering in record time and managing to stuff a bagel into his mouth, Nick was ready. Judy took one look at the morning traffic that laced the city and said, in a tone that brooked no argument, "We are so taking the train."  
Nick tried to protest, but Judy was having none of it. So, that was how, six minutes later, they were on the overcrowded train, mashed between a rhino and a lion, on their way to work. Nick was biting his tongue trying not to yell because the lion was stepping on his tail and his internal radar was screaming _GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF_ very loudly, but he couldn't do anything about it. Also, Judy hadn't mentioned the incident from last night. Did that mean she was mad at him? Did she expect him to make a move and say sorry first? Did she even remember what happened? Females were such strange creatures, he thought as they bolted into HQ. They leaned on the front desk, wheezing. Clawhauser looked up from his lucky chomps to smile at them. "Just in time!" he said happily. "If you'd arrived even a second later, you'd have been crisped!" He giggled like that was something to giggle about. Then he seemed to notice them struggling for breath. "Hey- what's wrong?"  
Judy wheezed. "Too much... traffic... had to... take the train... station's too far away. Had to... run." She took a deep breath. Nick blew out a last breath, and with hasty goodbyes to Clawhauser, they went to bullpen.  
Not a moment too soon, like Clawhauser had candidly mentioned. Just as they sat down, Chief Bogo slammed his way in. He glared at them all, then cleared his throat. "We have a new recruit today, and I should introduce her," he said kindly, nodding to the lioness who occupied the seat next to Fangmeyer. She looked flattered and surprised. Nick winced internally. _Here we go. Three...two...one..._  
"But I won't, because... I don't care."  
_Bingo._  
The lioness looked even more surprised, if not a little shocked. Some officers chuckled, some sent her sideways glances that meant, _get used to it, he's always like that._  
Bogo cleared his throat. "Officers Delgato, Snarlov, Higgins! Robbery in Tundratown. Officers Trunkaby, Famgmeyer, Wolfard! Sahara Square patrol. Officers Wilde, Hopps," he paused. Nick and Judy waited with bated breath.  
"Paperwork. Dismissed!" Nick and Judy drew breath in unison, preparing to protest, but Bogo shook his head and pointed at records, silencing them. "No," he said forcefully. "I have enough officers on the field today. Tomorrow you have the undercover, and will prepare accordingly. Throw in a couple of plans for the stakeout, and everything can go as planned." He smiled mockingly. "Won't it, Hopps, Wilde?"  
They closed their mouths. "Good," Bogo said, and with a final glare, closed his office door.

_The fox's eyes roved over the file of the next victim. She was smiling blandly in the photo, her black and white fur doing nothing to enhance it. He sighed, flipping the page. Details. Where she worked. What she did. Where she was, and why she would be where she would be when he took her life. It was all a rather messy business. He was the one who had to get his paws dirty, but then again, his paws were already stained with the blood of the innocent. A few more wouldn't matter. He closed the file, standing. His house- if you could call it a house- was tiny to say the least, barely enough to accommodate him, but enough. He could sleep there, and that was all that mattered. He hadn't gotten any messages from Omega, and took the silence as approval. Everything would go as planned, no hindrances. He took out a photo from his suit pocket. An official-looking photo, of two officers. One fox, one rabbit. His gray-blue eyes fastened on the rabbit. Yes... Everything would go as planned. His gaze then shifted to the fox, and a faint expression of annoyance crossed his muzzle. His transformation would have to begin from now. His fur was already gleaming red. The eyes he could manage. It was the rest that he would have to take care of. He tacked the photo up on his wall, his eyes once again lingering on gray fur and violet eyes. Then he disappeared into the shadows, blending into black. Everything would go as planned. One person would die. Two people would fail. One plan would succeed, and another would begin to form. And a thousand people would feel the impact. The wheel rose up, and all that was left to do was wait for it to fall, bringing Zootopia down with it. All he had to do was wait._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love it if you tell me what you think! Cheers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undercovers, white vixens and champagne. The action begins now, and with our murderer still at large, anything can go south. And especially with this huge mission looming above Nick and Judy- they're backed into a tight corner. It's up to them to devise an escape route, and with another threat keeping them at bay, the ZPD feels full of enemies. Can they find the mole before the thin sheet of ice that separates Zootopia from the truth shatters?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That took a looooooong time. *wipes sweat from brow*  
> Well, action is here and action is now. It was fun as hell writing this chapter, and it took a long time, so hope it pays off! Let me know if you like it or not.

Judy had given up. They had slumped back to records, and were doing- surprise, surprise- boring research. The computer screen was beginning to hurt her eyes, and she hadn't even been sitting there a few hours. She'd had a strange dream the previous night, an oddly vivid yet blurry vision of Nick, coming into her room. She'd said something, and he had replied, but the words were just out of her reach. She was confident that it had been a dream, yet Nick was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, as if expecting her to turn around and yell at him. Maybe he was just hoping things would smoothen between them, just like she did. Maybe he was expecting her to say something first, so that he could agree. He could even be waiting to apologize, or waiting for _her_ to apologize. You could always count on men to complicate things that were already complicated to begin with. She turned to grab a notepad, glancing at Nick as she did. He was sitting on the desk and eating a donut he'd swiped from Clawhauser, and simultaneously reading a file. She turned back, pencil in paw, and noted a few points down. "I can't believe," Nick said, voice slightly muffled by the donut he was talking around. "They didn't even manage to find out what species this guy is."  
Judy pushed off from the desk, the swivelling chair spinning her around to face him. "I don't know," she replied, rubbing her ear. "Didn't Finnick say he always wore a mask, and gloves and a coat and stuff? It's all part of the secrecy." She wiggled her fingers at him. "You know, like a top-secret criminal mastermind." She grinned, and Nick rolled his eyes, finishing off his donut. "If only Wolfard could hear you now. He'd probably geek out and start rambling about geeky things. You know, since he's such a geek."  
Judy smiled sarcastically. "How perceptive of you. You are a genius detective," she said. "Genius." Nick rolled his eyes, making a face her. Judy felt an almost overwhelming wave of relief. This was how things always were between them- joking, laughing, poking fun at each other. She finally had her friend back, and she was happy. And there was nothing awkward about the laugh they shared before they resumed work.  
Lunch was a subdued affair, seeing as almost all the officers were out. They only saw Bogo once the whole day, when he was speaking to Clawhauser. They both looked drawn-out and tense, and their conversation looked more like an argument. Judy stood near the water dispenser, pretending to be taking a long drink, trying not to be caught eavesdropping. The voices were faint but audible to her ears. Bogo was muttering. "...can't entertain any more surprise visits from them," he said. "If they leak the news to the public, we may as well close down."  
"But sir," Clawhauser murmured back. "It's their job. They wrote back saying they'd be coming in to interview our officers in a week or so."  
Judy froze. Who were they talking about? Bogo continued. "Then we'd better be ready for them. Looks like our murderer isn't the only thing we'll be facing. This could be a potential source of blackmail for Wilde. If they manage to get even a shred of evidence..."  
Then it hit her. Who they were talking about. _The press._  
Bogo was right; if they told the denizens of the city, it would make the mess larger, harder to clean up. Impossible, even. She saw Bogo glance in her direction and hastily polished off her glass of water. She walked towards records, lost in thought. So the ZNN was sniffing at their trail. Not surprising. Since they were press, they knew about the 'Wilde case', and it was in their paws whether the public should get to know about it or not. She flashed back to the Night Howlers case, the riots that sprang up after the interview like weeds shooting up after a rain. The same thing would happen, she knew. There was too much to handle; the undercover, the stakeout, the research, her parents, Nick, now the media? _If you drop one thing, you'll lose your hold on everything else,_ she thought. _Try and hold it together._  
She knew she couldn't keep it from Nick; it was about him, and he had the right to know. She looked right and left, then ushered him towards her, holding a finger to her lips. He approached hesitantly, sitting next to her.  
"I overheard Bogo and Clawhauser talking," she murmured, and despite her serious tone, she saw his lips quirk up into a faint smile. "Accidentally, or...?" Judy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help a bit of a grin herself. "It looked important. Anyway, they were talking about the press. Apparently they came here a few days ago, but we weren't there. They're going to try and tell the public. And they're coming here in a week for interviews-"  
Nick had already leapt up at the mention of the public. "They can't," he said. "You know what'll happen if they do." He looked towards Bogo's office. "He can't let them. We should go talk to him about-"  
"No," Judy interrupted, shaking her head. "We can't burden him with this too. He'll forestall them, I know it. Bogo could stop a stampede with a blink, this won't be that hard. We have to catch the assassin at the undercover, and Omega at the stakeout. Once we do, the public can know."  
Nick sat down, but he was shaking his head. "There's no guarantee that we'll catch the assassin or Omega. If we don't, it'll be even worse."  
_This could be a potential source of blackmail for Wilde,_ Bogo had said. And he was right. The balance was a delicate chain of lies that kept Nick and Judy bound there. If the balance was tipped, the scales would come crashing down. And the press would make sure of the fact that when it tipped, the damage would spread like wildfire.  
"We have to try," she said. "We have to mak sure everything goes as planned."  
Nick's grin was like a sliver across his face. "Then we'd better get to planning, huh?"

A sheet was spread across the table, the clutter cleared away, and Nick and Judy were prepared to begin writing a plan of action. Judy was scrolling through the pictures Rhinowitz had sent her of the Spots and Stripes Bar. It was a large space, chairs and tables scattered around. The alley outside was bare and stripped, with a few posters on the wall and not much else. Every entrance and exit had been located, and every escape route had been planned in advance.  
Nick returned from the printing room with the photos from her phone. He spread them near the sheet, and Judy took a deep breath, trying to swallow her anxiety.  
"So," she said. "We enter normally. We act like two regular mammals at a bar. That means, um..." She glanced at Nick and raised her eyebrows. He smirked.  
"Well," he drawled. "It involves lots of drinking, dancing and some other things that wouldn't be appropriate to discuss with a bunny, I mean, you'd be absolutely _scandalized_ at the things-"  
"Nick," she said, losing patience. "Get on with it." He smiled lazily. "Carrots, I kid you not. I know about this place, and the moment Finnick told me about it, I knew why Omega chose this bar in particular. It's famous for its...strange visitors. And the high pitch of excitement with which said visitors act. You'll be eaten alive."  
She bristled. "Oh, yeah?"  
He smiled. "Yeah. Oh, and did I mention that it's very populated with foxes in particular? Yep, I'll be in my element. And you, well...you'll definitely be a little more uncomfortable."  
"I'm sure living with you has changed my definition of uncomfortable, Nick," she said dismissively. "It'll be fine." His smile widened. "It won't be fine when you see the way they'll look at you. And when one of them tries to-"  
"Nick, I got it." Her ears were warm. "I'll handle it. I know I'm a rabbit, and I'm female, and makes me vulnerable or whatever, but I am also a cop. And since your life is on the line, I think you can afford to pay attention."  
Nick's smile was still stretched across his muzzle. "Whatever you say, Carrots. You're the boss." But he concentrated all the same when she started drawing on the sheet. "Right," she muttered. "So our entrance is through...here." She marked a small circle on the doors she'd drawn. "Then," interrupted Nick, grabbing the pencil from her and marking another spot. "We just stay in this area until...what, exactly?"  
Judy frowned, sitting back. "Until the murder happens, I guess. Finnick said 12:30, didn't he?" Nick put the pencil down, scratching his ear. "Yep. Maximum darkness is thirty minutes after midnight, always. I'm sure he chose Spots and Stripes because it's so loud there, and the back alley is always deserted. It's not a bad place to kill someone."  
Judy smirked as he blinked, realizing how he had sounded. "Wrong thing to say," she sang, and grabbed the pencil back and shaded a space of the sheet behind the drawing of the bar. "So it's supposed to happen here. We don't have backup because we don't want attention, but do one of us wait there?"  
Nick shook his head. "No. We can't afford that. What if he comes into the bar with a chainsaw or a bazooka or something?" Catching sight of Judy's narrowed eyes, he hastily rephrased his sentence. "I meant that he might come in and try to get one of us alone."  
Judy looked at the sheet again. "Okay. So we just hang around until we hear something, or see something."  
"And we also have to be discreet," said Nick, standing. "Subdued. Like, with shades and trench coats and all of that stuff." He grinned. "This is going to be a lot of fun."

Nick couldn't sleep. He was restless, and couldn't stop thinking about what Judy had told him about the press. It was entirely in their paws whether the public should know or not. What a powerful stance they took up. The ZPD were just puppets to them. The city would react strongly, he knew. Either they would react with support and understanding, or with riots and hate. He strongly suspected the latter. He turned over, uncomfortable. The couch wasn't too bad, but his back felt like it was being massaged with an iron rod. He glanced at the time. Close to midnight. The sky was black-gray with clouds, and he saw an occasional flash of dry lightning crackle across the sky. About half an hour later, it started raining, sheets pouring down from the sky. The pattering of the drops against the window lulled him into sleep, and to his future surprise, he didn't wake up once until morning arrived.  
Nick woke up to a loud rumble of thunder. The sky was dark, overcast and pouring rain. He groaned and burrowed under the covers. He felt like a petulant kid who didn't want to go to school. Soon enough, Judy shook him awake and informed him politely that if he didn't wake up she would kill him in fifty different ways, and that motivated him somewhat to get up.  
The traffic made it even worse, delaying them by twenty minutes. The car careened into the parking lot, next to an unfamiliar black vehicle. Nick glanced at it as he got out of the car, and saw the letters ZNN lettered across the hood in white. _Oh, great._  
They ran into Precinct One sopping wet, and Nick nudged Judy and muttered, "The press are here." Judy's eyes widened in shock. "What? But Bogo said-"  
"Yeah, well, he's not right about everything," murmured Nick, and they headed over to Clawhauser, who looked at them oddly. Judy instantly asked, "Hey, Clawhauser, are the ZNN here?" The cheetah nodded, pointing at the meeting room. "They're expecting you," he said. "We weren't- we thought they'd come in next week, but we're not exactly in a place where we can tell the press what to do." He looked frightened. "Good luck," he said as they shared an apprehensive look. "You'll need it."

The meeting room was huge, with one side made of glass so that they could see the highway beyond, and the sheets of rain that were falling. Nick had never seen the room so full, with all the officers in one spot, and the press with their cameras and microphones and cool cutting glances. Bogo stiffly walked up to them. "Detectives," he said. "Your arrival is most opportune. As you can see, the press has arrived. They have a few questions, and-"  
"That will do, Chief. We'll take it from here," interrupted a smooth voice. Everyone turned to the speaker, a sleek white vixen. Huge ice-blue eyes dominated her beautiful face, and her fur gleamed, lush and thick. She walked over to them, and Nick thought distantly that her red blazer and black pencil skirt were very tight. They hugged her legs and waist, showing off full, feminine curves. He tried not to stare as she stood next to Bogo. She was just a little shorter that him. She sent them a sultry smile, and put a paw to her mouth. "Where are my manners?" Instead of turning to Bogo, she turned to Nick, rather deliberately turning her back on Judy, and held out her paw. "Trystine Vulpinson, ZNN."  
Nick cautiously took her paw. He shook it quickly and let go. "Nick Wilde. So-"  
"I'm sure they informed you we would be coming?" She smiled radiantly, and behind her, Bogo glowered at Nick, who felt like he'd been swept up in a tornado and had been deposited somewhere where he didn't know what was going on. Without waiting for a reply she went on. "Excellent. Now we'll be taking interviews, and, of course, recording them. If what we collect is deemed worthy, it will be given to the public. If not, well," she turned at last to look at Judy, who looked similar to how Nick felt. "That won't do, will it?" She laughed lightly. Then she turned her back and sashayed over to her partners.  
Judy looked at Bogo, who glared at Trystine's bushy white tail and stalked off to Wolfard. The two immediately began muttering to each other.  
Judy glanced at Nick. "Who died and made _her_ queen?" She shook her head. "What a-"  
"Detective Wilde!" sang a breathy voice from across the room. Judy and Nick turned to see the vixen, her muzzle still curled in that permanent smile of hers. "A moment, if you please!"  
Nick tugged on Judy's sleeve. "Come with me," he muttered, then headed across the room. Trystine gave Judy a cold once-over and turned to Nick again. "Detective Wilde. What can you tell us about the murderer?"  
Nick hesitated. Press conference 101. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself to look unruffled and efficient. He flashed an easy smile. "The murderer...is he still at large? Yes, yes he is." The vixen made a small note, then raised her head. "What information have you collected about the one who hired said murderer?"  
"Known to the masses as Omega, this mammal used to be called Aegis, and had a large underground business. He was forced into bankruptcy by our officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer and Wolfard, and has resurfaced as Omega. He places an immeasurable priority on secrecy, and we have yet to uncover more about him."  
Everyone turned in surprise to Judy, who had spoken. She looked cool and unruffled. Trystine nodded politely, but her voice had taken upon a cold quality when she spoke next. "We have heard many things, most of which are rumors. Do you believe these rumors could have an adverse affect on the case?"  
Judy swallowed, stricken into silence. Nick answered. "No comment."  
She blinked. Her eyes were very blue, almost cyan. Sitting this close to her, he could see the darker flecks of navy in them. He could also smell her perfume, a sweet scent that reminded him of gardenias. She was, in a nutshell, gorgeous. He was a fox, and should have been all over her, he supposed, but he just didn't feel anything at all.  
She sat straighter, and a satisfied smirk crossed her face. "Very well." Then she raised her head to look directly at them. "What are your thoughts on the one behind all this? I think- and I'm sure you've had similar thoughts- someone may be trying to target you."  
Nick's breath caught. "Yes, we have had similar thoughts," said Judy, putting a paw on his arm. "Of course we have."  
Trystine stood, brushing herself off and smoothing her already smooth blazer. "Thank you, detectives." She flashed a smile, which didn't reach her eyes, which remained frozen blue. "Your cooperation has been duly noted. I guarantee we'll be seeing you very soon." Her smile was too knowing for Nick's taste. She turned away and proceeded to leave the room. Once the press trickled away and the last mammal left the room, Bogo immediately stomped up to them. "Tell me what they asked you."  
They explained, and Bogo's face remained unreadable throughout. Finally he sighed through his nose. "Fine. Nothing too pressing. Be prepared next time. The undercover, I believe, is tonight?"  
"Yep. Tomorrow, really, considering," said Nick thoughtfully. "It's at 12:30 AM."  
"Hmm," was all the chief said in reply. He looked far away. "They said," he said in a low voice, "they would come next week, and yesterday night they pushed it to today. If we'd had a little more time to prepare..." He shook his head. "That vixen," he said, pointing at them. "She's their best journalist- I've heard rumors. Keep an eye out for her. Especially you, Wilde." He stalked out of the room. Nick scowled. "Why me?"  
Judy looked disgruntled. "Isn't it obvious?" She made an ugly sound in the back of her throat. "You're a fox, and she's-" she gestured vaguely. "You know."  
Nick rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "No, I don't."  
"She's a vixen. And she's gorgeous. A couple of wrong turns and she'll have you wrapped around her-" she blushed. "Finger."  
Nick raised a brow, not entirely impressed. "Huh. Well, she isn't hideous, but," he shrugged. "Not my type."  
Judy looked suspicious. "Oh? What is your type then?"  
_Hmm... Let me think. Gray fur, violet eyes, two feet tall, rabbit named Judy Hopps._  
"Can we not talk about my nonexistent love life right now?" he asked instead, heading for the door. Judy followed, scowling. She muttered something under her breath, so quiet he couldn't hear a word of it. "What was that, Carrots?"  
"Nothing," she said mutinously.  
He frowned, pushing open the doors. "Today we have to plan for the undercover. Again." Judy was biting her lip and frowning, worry expressing itself clearly in the lines of her face and the shadows under her eyes. "It has to work," she murmured. "It has to."  
She raised her eyes to his, and he felt an irresistible force pulling him to her, as if he was tethered to her, no matter the distance. It had always been there, that pull, that need. The doors fell shut, closing them into the empty meeting room. The lights were off, and the only illumination was the picture window, rain still falling. The lights played across Judy's face, patterning it in blue and black and yellow and white. He felt it, the need to express it somehow, that he cared. Almost against his will he put a paw on her waist and drew her into him, pulling her against him. She made a muffled sound, but complied, pressing herself against him, wrapping her small arms around him. They stayed like that, her arms around him and his head on her shoulder, for a long time. 

"So what are you guys doing for the undercover?"  
Wolfard leaned casually against the doorframe, smiling his carefree smile. Nick swivelled around, blinking. The light from the computer had rendered him nearly blind, and Wolfard looked like a green blob. He blinked again.  
"The usual. Acting normal, then-"  
"Then acting like secret agents," sighed the wolf. "You guys are so lucky. I've never done an undercover before. It'd be so cool." He looked around. "Hey, where's Judy?"  
Nick stretched. "Went to get coffee. Why?" He shrugged. "Just asking. Hey, Nick?"  
Nick looked up. "Yeah?"  
"You've got a plan for this, right? You know what you're doing."  
"Sure." Nick frowned. "Look, Wolfard-"  
"Hey!" It was Judy, carrying two paper bags and two waxed paper cups of coffee. She grinned, ducking around the wolf and setting the bags and cups down. "What brings you to our humble workstation?" She sat on the tabletop and swung her legs.  
"I was sent to ask you guys how progress is coming around. Have you guys got fake identities and everything?"  
Judy shrugged, sipping her drink. "We do, but I doubt we'll be needing them. We still need a costume update though." She looked thoughtful as she lowered the cup. "It'll work fine, I'm sure of it."  
Wolfard sidled into the room, paws in his pocket. "What's your plan?"  
Judy's eyes flashed, just for a fraction of a second, but Nick caught the glance.  
Nick inclined his head ever so slightly to the right, and her lashes feathered down as she blinked, breaking the contact. The whole exchange had lasted maybe one or two seconds. "Sure," she said, handing him the sheet. His blue eyes flicked down the paper, then flicked upwards again. "It's a little faulty," he said. "If you see the pictures Fangmeyer sent, you'll notice a small back door covered by boxes. It's a possible entrance, and if you guys stay near the left upper corner fire escape, it'll be foolproof." He handed Nick the sheet.  
Judy's eyes were slightly wide. "Oh," she said. "Okay, we'll trace that line and see where it leads us." She scribbled on the sheet. "Thanks," said Nick, and the wolf looked at him, an unreadable look on his face. "Don't thank me," he said. "You'd have realized it on your own." He smiled a little. "It kind of reminded me of that one comic from _The Aardvark Assassin_. It's so cool when they corner the villain and-" he made a gesture with his fist. "Bam. You know?"  
Judy hid her grin in her donut. "Yeah," she said, winking at the wolf, who had the grace to blush. "Bam." She giggled and took a bite out of the donut. Nick didn't realise he was staring at her until Wolfard nudged him discreetly, clearing his throat. Nick looked away hastily.  
There was a slight commotion in the form of a beep on Nick and Judy's phones then, and they both checked it at the same time. Wolfard peeked over Nick's shoulder. "The costume update," he said, sounding delighted. "Aw, man! This is so cool," he said, punching Nick's shoulder. Nick blinked. "It's not great," he said. "I have to wear a _suit_? No way."  
"You have it easy!" Judy was glaring at her phone. "I have to wear a dress." She sighed. "Sometimes I hate being a girl." She set her phone down. "It'll be awesome," sighed Wolfard. "Like the agents from this show I watched recently, called-"  
"We got it," said Judy, rolling her eyes. "This is cool and all, but if there's a fight..." She made a face.  
"You guys totally have to text me the instant it's over," said Wolfard. "I need to know the juicy details. Anyway, gotta go!" He clapped Nick on the shoulder and grinned at Judy. "See you guys tomorrow morning?"  
Nick sighed inwardly. "Tomorrow morning."

Judy gazed at herself in the mirror. She hadn't wanted to dress up, but duty called, she supposed. She was wearing an expensive tight black dress that stopped at her knees, but thankfully covered her shoulders and arms well. Heavy makeup that nearly obscured her face, brown contacts and a slightly darker sheen to her fur. She didn't look like herself at all; all the better, she thought as she left the room. Nick was still in the bathroom, and she plopped down on the couch, which now carried the faint, musky smell of fox on it since Nick had started sleeping there.  
Her fingers traced down the seat, to the pillow. She closed her eyes and let the rich scent fill her. It smelled- well, good. More than good. It was rousing, invigorating. She abruptly opened her eyes as the bathroom door opened and Nick stepped out.  
He hardly looked different, and he was supposed to; the murderer did look exactly like him, and they needed to play that to their advantage. He was dressed in a crisp black suit that looked like a spill of ink, and looked deadly as a honed blade.  
He stared at her. "Is that the only dress you own?"  
She self-consciously looked down at herself. "Not good?"  
He shook his head, smiling a little. "No, it's good. But you're not Judy Hopps today, are you? You're what's-your-name, Daisy or something."  
She rolled her eyes. "I'm Chelsea, you idiot. Chelsea Haresmith. And you're...what, Steve?"  
He made a face at her. "Jonathan Something, I can't remember. Nobody cares, anyway. But you don't look like you. You're not my Judy at all."  
"I'm not supposed to look like me, so that's a good thing, right?" But her heart had begun pounding when he had casually said _my Judy_ in a soft, possessive voice that had cold running its icy fingers down her back. She swallowed as he smiled languidly. "Yeah," he said, drawing the word out. "It sure is." He cocked his head to the side. "That dress is kind of short. You sure you're not uncomfortable?"  
She tugged on the hem, blushing and glad her fur was darker so it wasn't noticeable. "It's fine." She pulled away and stood from the couch that smelled like him, like Nick. She fidgeted with her bracelet and bit her lip, looking at Nick discreetly. He was fiddling with his sleeves. He made an irritated noise after a couple of seconds of futile struggling, then held his wrists out to her. "Fasten the cuff links?"  
She did so, trying not to let her blush show. She had bought these cuff links for him, a few months ago. She'd felt shy while picking them out; buying cuff links seemed like the thing a girlfriend might do. She fastened the links quickly, stepping back and surveying him. "I guess you'll do," she said sardonically, and turned with a flourish. The dress' short skirt flew upward as she did, and the air was cool on her legs.  
She stuffed everything she could into a small handbag: a few weapons in case of an emergency, extra contact lenses, dye, makeup, and other necessities. When she hurried into her room under the claim of grabbing some last minute things, she strapped a tranquilizer gun into the inner sleeve of her right forearm, and patted the fabric into place over it. It wasn't visible, thankfully. She had a feeling she'd need to be prepared for this. After snapping on her watch (with a GPS hidden inside, along with a tracking device), she left the room, her right arm turned in to hide the ever so slight bulge the gun formed. She checked her reflection one last time in the mirror. Unrecognizable brown eyes and dark gray fur gazed back at her. She was ready. She took a deep breath, bracing herself. The clock read 11:15. It was time to go.

Nick was driving, and the ride was silent, giving Judy plenty of time to think. She revised and re-revised the plan they had made over and over, murmuring under her breath. The bar was pretty far away, and even at 11:20 in the night, the streets weren't empty.  
The car carefully pulled up near the bar, which was not anything like Judy had expected, which was a rundown little shed or something like that, packed with churning bodies and the smell of alcohol and sweat everywhere. It was a modern, gleaming structure, made of chrome and steel and glass, filled with equally sleek mammals holding champagne flutes and glasses of ruby-red wine that sparkled under the fluorescent lights. The glimmer of expensive dresses and suits and jewellery was everywhere, sparking under the lights and turning into dazzling specks of color. She took a deep breath of cold city air, made stale by the age of the night. She wanted to hang back or hesitate, but she wasn't Judy Hopps. Not tonight.  
"You lied," she said to Nick as he stepped up to her. "You said this was a super loud and noisy place. It's actually pretty..."  
"Ultramodern? Yeah, it is. But just wait till the drinks and music start flowing. I didn't lie." His grin was white in the dark. He held out an arm, a courtly gesture of ages past. "So, Chelsea. Care to be my date for tonight?"  
"Oh, Jonathan, I thought you'd never ask." And she took his arm.

The lights and sounds exploded around her, surrounding her. She felt like she was in an fever dream, the hues too bright, the lights too harsh, the music too loud and the effect entirely too beautiful. She smiled widely as they drew up at the glass bar, where a tigress in a slinky blue dress smiled suggestively at them. "Drinks?"  
Before Nick could open his mouth Judy raised herself on tiptoe and leaned across the counter. "Yes, please." She smiled as Nick scowled at her.  
She downed the golden liquid in her glass instantly, and had to stop herself from choking as it burned a trailing path down her throat. She coughed slightly and beckoned for another, her eyes watering, her cheeks flushed. She'd never drank in her life, but there was a first time for everything. She swallowed another, then another, then another...  
"I think that's enough," said Nick's voice once she finished her fifth. She tried to protest, but then everything dissolved as he took her paw and said, "I think a dance might help things."  
The alcohol added a dreamy quality to the already surreal night. Nick was slightly blurred at the edges, and he looked gorgeous. She sighed as he swept her onto the dance floor, and felt it in extra intensity when he leaned forward and put his lips to her ear, whispering. "Judy, the case. You have to stay sober, and we have to keep an eye on the back door."  
She leaned back. "I know," she said. "It's just-" She struggled for words. Everything in her brain seemed misplaced, somehow, like she couldn't grip at anything. "Just dance with me," she said, and pulled him closer as a slower, softer number began to play. People were moving together, paws on waists, bodies aligned. She felt a pulse of fear mingled with excitement as he put his paws on her hips and drew her to him until they were pressed together, their breath mingling. They swirled around, and Judy forgot about the case, she forgot about the murders, she forgot that they were in an undercover mission and they were two cops. Everything faded away and was Nick, his graceful movements, his tail brushing her bare legs, his fingers tracing patterns on her waist as they danced. Her body felt like a live wire, thrumming with energy. She _wanted._ She didn't know what she wanted, but she did, in a way that terrified her and exhilarated her and aroused her at the same time. She wanted to stay there forever, wanted to keep dancing and forget everything, wanted to-  
The song ended, the momentary silence acting like a slap in the face; she drew away from Nick, blushing and confused. He held out his hand and she took it, and he led her to a table a stone's throw away from the back door. She still felt the after effects of the dance and the drinks in the slight blur of her surroundings and the lull of the music. But she didn't feel sleepy or tired. She'd never been more awake.  
She glanced at Nick, unable to believe that he didn't feel anything. He couldn't not feel anything. She didn't think she could bear it if he didn't feel anything. He looked calm and unruffled, like the last ten minutes hadn't happened at all. She looked away, feeling blank. Did she really mean nothing to him? Suddenly feeling sick, she lurched to her feet. "Bathroom," she muttered, and ignoring his concerned glance, she hurried away.

Nick shot Judy a concerned look as she hastily made off to the bathroom. She'd never drank before this, he was sure. And he knew what effect your first shot of alcohol could have. Nick, on the other hand, was not suffering because of drink. He was suffering because of something else entirely. When they'd danced, he'd felt every breath like a pulse of electricity, and everywhere she'd touched him was still tingling- his fingers, his arms, his palms.  
It had obliterated him.  
He took a shaky breath, shivering. He'd go crazy if he didn't tell her soon. He checked his watch and glanced around; still nothing. He'd expected some action by now.  
Suddenly, he felt something brush his leg, and a sickeningly familiar sweet scent filled his nose. He jumped and turned around, and suppressed a groan.  
Trystine Vulpinson stood behind him, smiling coyly under her long lashes. Once again, she was wearing a too-flattering dress, but this one was the color of ice floes, blue and white that matched her snowy fur and frozen eyes. Whorls of crusted crystal beads glittered in the bodice, and all the blue and white made her look like something faraway and untouchable, like a snow queen. She was undoubtedly beautiful, but very forgettable, despite everything.  
"Mr. Wilde, what a pleasant surprise," said Trystine candidly, setting down her champagne flute. A warning bell went off in his head. Press. Enemy. If she was here, it would complicate things. She knew who he was, and that could ruin the whole plan. "Miss Vulpinson," he said cautiously, but not without force. "Fancy meeting you here." He looked around for Judy, but she was nowhere to be seen. He silently cursed all women and their alarming tendency to camp in bathrooms at every available opportunity.  
"It's Trystine, please. We're not at work." She smiled sweetly, and Nick belatedly realized that he was being very impolite and not very gentlemanly, and hastened to stand. "Of course."  
She looked at him with a challenge in her eyes. "Where's Miss Hopps?"  
He lied elaborately. "She- doesn't much like places like this. She's at home." This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say, for Trystine's eyes glowed like lanterns. "Ohhh?" Her lips curved upwards. "So you're alone?" She fiddled with the long stem of the glass, the liquid inside sparking and fizzing golden. She glanced upward through her lashes.  
"Yes," he replied. "I'm alone."

Judy hastily reapplied the makeup to her face, having forgotten about it before she splashed water onto it and it ran in gray rivulets down her cheeks like tears. The cold of the water had wiped away her slight hangover, and she felt fresh again. She left the bathroom, her spirits revived, and began to make her way to the table when Nick appeared in front of her, smiling slightly. She felt relieved, yet uneasy. She smiled back, hesitantly. "Chelsea, I was looking for you," he said with a disarming grin. She still felt uneasy, but played along. "Sorry, Jonathan, I was in the bathroom. Needed to wash my face." His smile grew lopsided. "You okay?"  
She nodded, running her paws through her ears. "I guess."  
She felt his paw on the small of her back as he steered her towards a side door. "Nick," she hissed. "What are you-?"  
"I think you need some air," he muttered back, and she blinked. "It's fine, we need to be in there, the case-"  
"It's just a couple of minutes." He pushed the door open, and they stepped out together. Judy's feeling of unease grew, radiating to her bones. This was Nick; he looked like Nick, he sounded like Nick, he smelled like Nick, felt like Nick. Then why was every instinct in her body telling her it wasn't?  
She dismissed her fears as paranoia. It was natural for her to feel like this when they were on duty. She looked at him, and he smiled down at her. Something glinted in his eyes, but when she pursued it, it vanished. He began walking down the back alley, paws casual in his pockets. Dazed and confused, she followed. "Look, Nick, we'd better get back inside. It's late, and-" She stopped and squinted, peering into the black that had swallowed him up. "Nick?"  
His voice came floating out from the shadows. "Judy- you'd better come and look at this."  
His voice was calm and composed, but her heart slammed in her chest. She approached, blinking in the dark. A couple of meters into the alley, she felt Nick's arm on her shoulder, pushing her back. "Look."  
She looked. And her breath came whistling in her ears as she gasped, beholding the gruesome sight in front of her. It was too late. _They_ were too late.  
She dragged air into her lungs. "Oh," she said faintly. "Oh God, no."

Trystine smiled triumphantly, setting her glass down. "As am I," she said, and there was a blazing look on her face. "Then I hope it wouldn't be intruding to spend my evening with you?" He gazed at her, at a loss. She went on. "We are on the same side, aren't we?"  
The same side. Nick scoffed to himself. The press was on no one's side except their own. "Well," he said. "Exactly which side are you on, Miss Vulpinson?"  
The flirtatious smile on her face slipped. "Was that a jab at the ZNN, Mr. Wilde?"  
He allowed his face to smooth over in a casual grin. "Well, you are infamous for your antics, and I can't say I approve." He tilted his head to the side. "What a coincidence, that we managed to meet here, isn't it?"  
Her smile seemed frozen to her face. "Coincidence indeed. Do you believe in fate, Mr. Wilde?"  
He narrowed his eyes. "I believe in opportunities and making the best of them."  
"I believe that history is written by the winners," she said, tossing her head and baring her teeth. Nick's suspicions climbed higher. "And you intend to write this portion?"  
"Oh, yes," she said. "I do." Then she regained her former aloofness. "Care for a dance, Mr. Wilde?" She shot him a sideways grin. He remembered Judy and her breath warming the air, and stepped back. Her smile was falling when he regained his composure and said, "Not at all, Miss Vulpinson." And he led her to the floor.  
She was taller than Judy, and prettier, her features more exotic and angled. But her eyes held none of the warmth Judy's held. They were cold as the ice they so resembled. She was also a more graceful dancer, and fluidly whirled in his arms as the music flowed around them. She pressed against him, her perfume almost making him gag. The feeling of being this close to someone he didn't want to be close to was disconcerting, and had him drawing away the instant the song ended. She gazed at him coolly. "Thank you for the dance," she said huskily. She bit her lip and looked at the ground, her finger toying with her hair. Nick nodded absently, sweeping the room with his eyes, looking for Judy. Where in the world was she?  
He excused himself from Trystine's company, saying he needed to go to the restroom, and hurried away. He checked his watch, looking for the little red dot that was Judy on the tracking device. It was outside, in the...the back alley. Fear shot through him, then reason stepped in, saying, _Maybe she's just investigating. Maybe she saw something._ The other half of him said, _What if she saw something and went there and that murderer is still out there?_  
Whatever the case, he had to go to her. He hastened out of the bathroom, and was halfway to the door when Trystine caught him. "Mr. Wilde!" she called, and hurried over. His blood sang, impatience and irritation coursing through him. What was this ridiculous vixen's problem?  
"I was just wondering if you wanted a drink," she said breathlessly thrusting a glass in his hand. He glared at it, then shoved it back at her. "No, thank you," he said, aware that he wasn't being very polite. "I had one too many tonight. I think I'll just go home now. Maybe I'll see you sometime later."  
She smiled radiantly. "I certainly hope so," she said. She began to walk away, and relief filled him. One obstacle out of the way. "Good night, Mr. Wilde," she called with a sly grin. Nick didn't catch it; he had already begun making for the door. 

The alley was splattered with blood.  
Smears of red were everywhere, and the body had literally been torn open. She put a hand to her mouth to stop her dinner from making a reappearance, and felt her bag slip from her grip. Nick bent and caught it, moving back and gently pulling her with him as she gagged with revulsion. "It was supposed to be at 12:30," she said weakly. "It's barely midnight."  
Nick seemed awfully composed. "It was either a hoax, or they somehow knew we knew."  
She turned away from the body, tears pricking at her eyes. They had missed it. They had lost. Another innocent life wasted. She let out a breath that was a half-sob. "We were too late," she whispered.  
She felt a sudden pressure on her wrist, and saw Nick's paws encircling them, almost too tightly for comfort. "N-Nick? Wha-?"  
She heard glass shatter and metal tear, and her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she felt her watch break under his unnaturally strong grip. He cast the useless remains aside and pulled her close with a cruel tug. "You were too late quite a while ago, I believe," he murmured in her ear, and he shoved her against the brick wall of the alley. She gasped with the pain, and struggled. He smiled as she pushed against him. "Naïve little Judy," he said. "Too gullible to even know who to trust. It was remarkably easy to lure you outside. And poor Wilde is still in there, with that vixen reporter. Last I saw them, they were dancing," he purred, and she felt a spike of rage go through her, and she wasn't sure if it was directed at this fox, or at Nick.  
"You're a murderer," she snarled, and he grinned. That feral gleam in his eyes was nothing like Nick. How had she not noticed it before? "Checkmate," he said idly, and pressed her harder against the wall with his body. She squirmed in vain. "What do you want from me?" she ground out.  
"Interesting question." He cocked his head to the side. "What do I want from you? Things you'd never imagine." He bared his teeth, and she saw behind the gleam of intelligence to the razor blades beneath. "Things that would drive you mad."  
Her eyes widened as his knee drove between her legs, pinning them to the wall. "No," she whispered. "Don't-"  
He turned and flung her handbag away, into the shadows. All her weapons, all her provisions, gone. She gasped, struggling madly, then froze as she realized two things. The first was that she saw someone over the fox's shoulder, a slim shadow, leave the bar and cautiously approach the alley, blending with the shadows.  
The second thing was that she still had one weapon left. 

Nick pressed himself against the wall of the alley, keeping to the shadows. He approached, the black swallowing him, and nearly stumbled over something on the ground. Looking down, he felt his eyes strain slightly as the blackness morphed into a shape. Bending, he picked it up and held it out.  
Judy's handbag.  
His heartbeat took flight, climbing higher and higher. He carefully tucked the bag away into his suit and continued into the passageway. A few yards in, he saw the body. Bile rose in his throat as he beheld the sight. Too late, too late, too late. He averted his eyes, his suspicions confirmed. Judy was here with the murderer. The thought made him panic. He stumbled forward, his eyes roving the space. Just as he took another step, he saw a small flash of light on his watch. Looking down, he saw the red dot that was Judy wink out and vanish. His breath caught, and he looked up. There- he saw something moving. Squinting, he blinked until it came into focus. A black suit just like his, and wearing it was a fox who looked just like him. He seemed to be holding something against the wall, something small and black-clad and long-eared.  
_Judy._ His rage overtook his apprehension, blotting out all other feeling. There was no way in hell he was going to let him hurt her. He would kill this fox just for putting his filthy paws on her. He started forward, adrenaline coursing though him.  
Within seconds, he was standing just behind them. He knew Judy had seen him; he could see it in the tense set of her shoulders, the hard expression in her face. The fox laughed and said, "You can either come willingly or unwillingly. The choice is yours."  
Nick's anger, which had already been alarmingly close to the surface, overflowed.  
"Or," he said in a cold, hard voice. "I can kill you before you can touch her."  
The fox started, then turned, one paw still holding Judy. His face broke into a delighted expression when he saw Nick. "The mice have fallen right into their trap," he said with a gleeful grin. Then he smirked at Nick. "As for me touching her, seems a bit too late for that, doesn't it?"  
Nick growled. "Get away from her."  
The fox frowned thoughtfully. "No, I don't think I will," he said. "This is awfully fun. Why don't you come get her?"  
"You know what," said Nick. "I think I will."  
He leaped at the other fox, who moved away with a fluid grace, dragging Judy with him. Nick whirled, facing them. The other fox smiled, then lifted Judy and flung her with a casual, terrifying ease. She only had time to gasp before she flew through the air, then smashed into the opposite wall with a sickening crack. She slid down, blood trickling from her lips. She was still.  
Nick stared in shock, unable to think of anything to do. Before he could react, he felt two lines of pain on his face as the fox slashed at him with his claws. He snarled and moved away, one paw cupping his cheek. It was wet with blood. He lashed out, and was almost surprised when he connected, his fist slamming into the fox's chest. He heard a gasp, and he used the momentary distraction to lunge. He landed on top of him, both their identical suits in ribbons. Nick was met with the disconcerting feeling of looking at himself as he formed a fist and brought it down, and it-  
Stopped. He felt something holding his fist tightly and saw the fox's paw holding it, fingers encircling his. His other paw came up to grip Nick's wrist, squeezing with such pressure that he groaned into his teeth. His bone was seconds from snapping. He slashed with his free paw, across his throat. He heard a gurgling cry, then the grip slackened. Nick scrambled to his feet.  
The other fox wasn't far behind, but Nick seized the distraction, and snatched a walkie-talkie from his belt and shouted, "Backup at the Spots and Stripes! This is Wilde, Hopps is down! We need-"  
The device was yanked from his grip, and he heard plastic break as it flew into the shadows. He gasped, and then fingers were at his throat, and laughter was in his ear. "Too bad," said the fox. "You could have gotten some much needed help with that."  
"Oh? What makes you think we need help?" said a strong, clear voice, and both Nick and the fox swivelled around- and stared.  
Judy stood there, fearless and bold, blood staining her dress and glistening on her lip. She was holding a small black gun in her hand, the weapon steady as her voice. She nudged her chin and motioned with the gun. "Move away," she snapped. "Or I'll shoot."  
The fox looked alarmed, then his face softened into a grin. "No you won't," he said. Then, almost too fast for the eye to see, he snatched his own gun from his pocket and held it to Nick's throat.  
Nick froze, and Judy's face tightened with fear. Time seemed to have stopped altogether. Then suddenly the alley was full of light and the sound of sirens. Nick felt the pressure of the gun at his throat vanish, and then the ZPD swarmed into the scene, shouting and holding weapons and torches, and saw Judy and Nick, spattered in blood, and the body of the victim. And when Nick turned back, unable to believe his eyes, he saw the hole in the brick wall that had been hidden by a stack of boxes and heard the start of a car and knew it was, once again, too late, and closed his eyes as he was clutched by defeat.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reports, secret names and surprise visits. The undercover is over, and the results weren't ones to be proud of. Everything is hanging over a precipice- careers, friendships, reputations...there's a lot at stake, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. It's all very messy business. And there are two options: You can clean the mess up.  
> Or you can burn it down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I taking so long for every chapter? I'm starting to annoy myself. Anyway, here you guys go, chapter 6. Hope you like it, and hope it's not too short, which is what I think. Leave your opinions in the comments, if you please.  
> Enjoy!

They stood in front of Bogo, clothes torn and faces bloody, as he paced in front of them over and over. "Tell me what happened, again." He stopped his pacing and looked at them. He looked neither angry nor disappointed. He just seemed blank.  
And so they explained. About their arrival, about how the murderer had lured Judy outside, how Nick and him had fought and fought and how Judy had pulled the gun at the last second. Judy's voice was empty of feeling as she spoke; she didn't want to remember the way the fox's arms had gripped her so hard there were blue-black bruises encircling her wrists. She didn't want to remember the moonlight on the gun as she held it out, and the terrifying, all-encompassing fear she had felt when Nick had been threatened. She didn't want to remember the words he had hurled at her, the words that battered and bloodied her until she had been choking down screams. _Things that would drive you mad._  
It hadn't been flattering, hearing what he told her he wanted from her. And she didn't want anyone's look of pity, of revulsion, of shock, when she told them. And so she didn't say it at all. She stepped around it, avoiding it, tucking the feelings away for later. She saw Wolfard, Clawhauser and Fangmeyer standing in the corner, eyes full of hopelessness. She looked away bitterly.  
Nick was speaking too, and he glanced at her every so often, and blinked more than usual. She grew increasingly suspicious as he spoke, telling Bogo about how he had waited for Judy inside but hadn't seen her, and how his tracking device told him to go outside.  
_And poor Wilde is still in there, with that vixen reporter..._ Against her will, the words echoed down her mind, bringing a wave of bitterness with it.  
Nick was lying. Judy faced forward, forcing her expression to wipe away and a cool blankness replace it. Why would he lie? He couldn't lie. To lie was to put everything they had accomplished on the line.  
She looked at him, unable to look away, or believe it. He was speaking, not a hint of guile on his face. "He disappeared moments after you arrived- left in a car, I heard it start. After that...well, you know." He looked up and straight at the chief, a challenge in his eyes. _I dare you,_ the look seemed to say. _I dare you to contradict me._ But Bogo didn't say a word. Finally, he said at great length, "You mentioned that he wanted you to go with him." He looked at Judy. "Did he say why?"  
Her breath caught, then eased. If Nick could lie like that, like it was something he did every day, then so could she. She lifted her chin. "No," she said. "He didn't mention anything, just that he wanted me to go with him." Bogo exhaled. "Are you absolutely sure he left nothing behind? Nothing at all?"  
"He did his job too well," said Judy, her voice ragged. "He left nothing behind."  
"I want a full report about what happened tomorrow. From both of you." He turned away, but not before she caught a flash of pure disappointment on his face. All the planning, the preparing, the work and time, had gone to waste. They had accomplished nothing, aside from the fact that they now knew the fox's ulterior motives, which sickened her. Sorrow bled through her. How has this fox known so much about their plans, their identities, everything? It wasn't possible.  
"Dismissed," Bogo said, his voice sounding faraway and distorted. "Go home, detectives. Get some sleep."

Nick was lying awake, on his back, wondering how he could possibly have been so unbelievably stupid. He had turned his back on his partner, and she had nearly been kidnapped as a result. And on top of that, he hadn't been able to bring himself to tell Bogo about Trystine. It would be a burden too great to bear. He swallowed, feeling wretched. The whole thing had been one huge disaster. His face, his legs, his arms all ached. His whole body was covered in bruises; he'd had to peel off his shirt because it was stuck to him with drying blood. He winced as he shifted slightly, the numerous lacerations on his back flaring up.  
He was just recovering when he heard a faint gasp and a bitten-off cry from Judy's room. His body reacted before his mind did and he was on his feet, swaying slightly, within moments. He stood there a moment, ignoring the warning bells going off in his brain. A minute later, he slowly got back on the couch, wary but tired. He closed his eyes, letting the evens of the day catch up with him and drag him down, and trying not to think of Judy.  
"Nick?"  
He jerked awake, sitting up suddenly, which was a bad idea; his whole body cried out in protest, and he felt dizzy. Valiantly ignoring it, he cleared his throat. "Carrots- it's four in the morning. You should be in bed."  
She sniffled, and he shot upright, standing. "Judy-"  
"I- could you come here?" She lifted her chin, even though her eyes were swimming with tears. He approached, feeling the waves of sorrow radiating off of her and feeling the same. When he came close enough, her hands shot out and fisted in his shirt. Before he could protest, she had pulled him towards her and was holding him fiercely.  
He caught his breath a moment, then clung to her like she was a life raft. He felt the walls shatter, and nothing mattered, because Judy was there, she had always been there and she would never leave him. He felt her warm breath on his chest as she spoke. "Tonight, I- I was so scared, I didn't know what to do and he had me and I thought- I thought-"  
He crushed her in his arms, stopping her stutters. "You're here now, I'm here, it's fine."  
She loosed a breath. "The fox, he said that you were inside, with- with Trystine. Is it true?"  
He forgot how to breathe, and his heart stopped beating. He felt the world tilting around him, threatening to spill him into nothingness, spinning forever through the dark. "Is it true?"  
He nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. "It is, Judy, but-"  
She drew away. He felt it like a blow, as if someone had taken away something essential from him, like an arm or a leg. His breath caught. "It's not what you think, Judy, it was-"  
"Nothing?" There was a terrible emptiness in her voice. She turned away. "I get it. It's fine."  
"Wait." She didn't turn back. " _Wait._ " He caught at her arm, forcing her to turn towards him. "Listen. She came to me, and and I tried to shake her off, but she would listen. I had to make excuses. Imagine what Bogo would've said- she's press-"  
"Still," she said. "You shouldn't have lied."  
"I didn't lie. I-"  
"Don't say you omitted." She looked angry. "It'll come back to sting you, Nick. Every lie does." She chewed on her lip, eyes cast downward. She cut such a helpless picture he wanted to hold her agin, but resisted. He narrowed his eyes, seeing her shifting from foot to foot and looking at him out of the corner of her eye.  
"Carrots, what are you hiding?"  
She looked up, too quickly. "Nothing." She looked afraid. He pressed his advantage. "Judy. What happened?"  
Her lip trembled. "I- Nothing. I'm just shaken about what happened. I think I need to sleep." He reached out to put a paw on her shoulder or take her paw or _something,_ and she flinched visibly, drawing away. It felt like a slap to the face, and he dropped his paw. He made to take a step forward, but she stepped back hastily, averting her eyes as if the sight of him burned her.  
She hurried away, murmuring a hasty goodnight. She didn't look back.

She could still see the fox, his bloody paws held out to her, his rough grip and his hot breath on her neck. She cringed away from the memory, wondering if she had upset Nick. Seeing him reach out to her, she hadn't seen him; she'd seen the other fox, grinning his razor blade grin, and even though they looked the same, there was a fundamental difference there. The gleam of his eyes, the twist of his smile. She swallowed hard and turned over. She knew she couldn't have slept, not in a million years. So instead of trying, she slid out yet again, but not for Nick this time. She headed over to her desk and sat in front of a blank sheet of paper. She picked up a pen and began to write, sketching out the previous night's events in intense detail, but leaving out the dance, the drinks and the dreams. She also left out the reason the fox wanted her, and finished it off with an account of the fight. She drew back and put the pen down, and to her surprise, her eyelids were drooping. She blinked once and then made her way to her bed and lay down, allowing tiredness to wash over her. The last things she saw before she fell asleep were bloody claws and matted fur in her mind's eye, and then sleep beckoned her towards it and gathered her in its soft arms.  
Her eyes felt glued shut. She didn't want to open them, but knew she had no choice. She managed to blink, and sit up groggily. Faint light streamed from her windows, indicating that it was early but not that early. She looked at her clock. Six thirty. That was barely a couple of hours of sleep. She rubbed at her eyes, sliding her legs out of bed, and to her surprise, she heard a commotion in the kitchen, and jogged out of her room towards it. She stopped dead in her tracks; Nick was standing there, leaning against the counter, ready in his uniform but weary; the shadows under his eyes attested to that. He was making coffee, turned slightly away from her. Before he could catch sight of her, she hastened to the bathroom to get ready.  
She approached the kitchen cautiously, dressed and ready, but bone-tired. She nodded a good morning to Nick, who handed her a mug in return. She accepted it silently, and maintained the same silence until they got into the car. Then she turned to Nick. "You shouldn't have lied to Bogo. He'll find out, and-"  
"Look, Judy, I have my reasons for what I do." He still wasn't looking at her, and it made her anger rise. It may have been irrational, but everything had finally come and blown up in her face. She felt the week's events choking her, and the only way to loosen it was to blame someone, and she blamed herself, and she blamed Nick, too; for leaving her side for some vixen, for lying to her, for being so blind.  
"No. You may have reasons, but she's going to find out, and she's going to ruin everything. And it'll be all your fault." He stared at her. His face twisted with anger. "My fault? If I get arrested and it's my fault-"  
"Yes, it is!" Her breathing turned heavy. "He told me he saw you two dancing." She spat the words out, and he recoiled, shock chasing hurt across his face. _Good,_ she thought. She felt a savage pleasure rise within her. _Let him be in pain for a change._ "I leave for one minute, and you go off with some vixen, and she can be the catalyst for this whole thing to come crashing down!"  
"I told you, she didn't let me go, I-"  
"Intentions are nothing. You should have said no to her face. You could just own up and say you wanted to. Come on, don't pretend, you were all over her-"  
He looked truly angry now, lips drawing back in a snarl. "You have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Don't I? You don't think I noticed you staring? I'm not blind!"  
"I wasn't-"  
"Just stop it!" She slammed her hand on the dashboard. The resulting crack shocked him into silence, and she felt her lips trembling. _No,_ she told herself fiercely. _I will not cry. Not now._ She lifted her chin defiantly. "Just stop. I don't want to hear your excuses. I wrote my report and now you have to write yours. And if you don't tell Bogo," she took a deep breath. "I will."  
His eyes widened, the narrowed to acid-green slits. "Fine. If that's how it's going to be, fine. How you can go saying things like this when you're no better, I don't know."  
She felt the anger again, rising up. "And what," she said, "do you mean by that?"  
"I mean I'm not the only one who lied last night. I can tell when you lie. Why did he want to take you with him?"  
She gasped, the memory livid in her mind. She flinched away from Nick. "No," she said. "Just not that, never that-"  
"Why?"  
She felt her face twist, and she growled. "No."  
He smiled, less of an actual grin but a feral bearing of teeth. "Come on, Judy," he hissed. "Be angry with me."  
Instead of bursting into tears, which was what she felt like doing, she started the car, trying to ignore the emotions roiling inside her. She threw one last hit.  
"When the public demands your imprisonment and everyone finds out you lied," she said evenly. "Don't come to me."  
The hit slammed home. Nick flinched visibly. She didn't think she'd ever seen him flinch before. That was the only thing that kept her from speaking again until they reached Precinct One.

Judy squared her shoulders and set her jaw, allowing tension to fill her until she was rigid as a board. Nick and her hadn't spoken once, and his expression was stone cold as he handed Bogo his report. She didn't know if he had mentioned Trystine, and didn't ask. There was a space between them that she knew she had engineered, but she still blamed him all the same. He couldn't lie. He shouldn't. It wasn't right. She may have been lying, but she had good reason, and it wasn't as if it would help to know that the fox wanted her for something as carnal as-  
"Hey, guys?" Clawhauser looked timid as he regarded them from behind his desk. They both turned at the same time. "Yeah?" Judy replied.  
"So...so how did it go?" He fidgeted with his badge, shooting them a look. Judy swallowed, thinking. "Well, it was-"  
"The mission failed." It was Nick, and while outwardly he looked calm, there was a razor edge to his voice. "We didn't catch him, we were too late and we didn't escape unharmed, so overall, it basically failed." He looked at the cheetah levelly. He swallowed in return, looking lost. "But- but you guys didn't-"  
"No," interrupted Nick. It wasn't rude, but Clawhauser flinched all the same. "Nothing happened. we didn't really learn anything or find out anything or gain anything from the whole operation."  
He looked down at Judy, and a bleak coldness passed across his face. "And we were totally open about it. There's nothing we know that you guys don't."  
So he had written about Trystine. She knew she was supposed to feel triumphant, or happy. But she just felt blank and detached. She felt herself nod, and say, "Yes. Nothing."  
She started to walk away, towards Bogo's office. She heard murmured voices behind her and squeezed her eyes shut, allowing her bitterness to choke her for just a moment before she swallowed it and pushed the door open. He had called her, and while she should have been scared, she felt like she had become a husk since that morning, no feeling inside her at all except regret and bitterness.  
"You wanted to see me, sir?"  
"Ah, Hopps. Sit." She sat, staring at the little photo frame of the officers, her and Nick included, with their arms slung around each other and laughing openly. She forced back another wave of regret and tore her eyes away.  
"Wilde recently submitted his report, and I've had a quick read. Your stories matched exactly, but Wilde mentioned he waited for you, but didn't see you. Now, if you said he came to you, didn't Wilde see him?"  
The words were like a soft explosion in her head. He hadn't mentioned the vixen. He hadn't listened to her. He had lied. _If you don't tell Bogo,_ she had said. _I will._ She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Actually, sir," she said. "There's something I have to tell you."

Nick was leaning against Clawhauser's desk, tired down to his soul. Wolfard and Fangmeyer and Geizzoli had joined him, and weren't talking, for his benefit, he assumed. They were, however, shooting glances at each other and hoping he wouldn't notice, which he did. Judy had left to talk to Bogo, and he was on edge, hoping she wouldn't mention Trystine. He deliberately didn't listen to her, part revenge and part actual fear that he would be blamed for his own prosecution. He chewed on his lip, looking at the door. He was angry at Judy, truly angry, the sort of anger that could last days and fracture their already delicate friendship like cracked glaze on pottery. Shallow, but irreplaceable. He knew her accusation was justified, but she had clearly overreacted, and he needed to know why the fox had wanted her. He had come up with numerous possibilities, but each was more far-fetched than the last.  
"Hey, Nick," muttered a voice, and he turned his head to see a pair of blue eyes that eerily reminded him of Trystine's. "Yeah?"  
"I'm sorry about- you know, what happened."  
Nick turned fully to face the wolf. "What are you taking about? The undercover?" He looked away bitterly. "Yeah, I'm sorry too."  
"Not the undercover," he replied unexpectedly. "I mean Judy."  
Nick swivelled around slowly, marvelling in Wolfard's perception. "What do you mean?"  
"You've been cold-shouldering each other the whole morning. It's kinda obvious you had a fight. I know how you hate to fight with her, so..." He looked at Nick without a shred of guile. "Just sympathizing, I guess."  
Nick managed a tired smile. "Well, it's okay. I mean..." He looked towards Bogo's office, wondering. Wolfard could be trusted. He was Nick's best friend here besides Judy, and he couldn't confide in her for everything.  
"Okay," he said. "So here's what happened."

_"I'm here." The fox was panting slightly, having sprinted all the way from Rainforest District. While his energy while running was usually inexhaustible, his body was still recovering from the beating it had taken the previous night; there were purpling bruises flowering across his chest, and it hurt to breathe. Not that he was complaining; he welcomed the pain, relishing in the sharp pang that shot through his ribs every time he drew breath. By the time he reached the little house, the ache had spread to his back, and he'd almost bent double in pain while climbing the stairs. He took a deep breath presently, ignoring the cries of protest of his sore muscles. There was, as usual, Omega with his hood and mask and haunting blue eyes, leaning against a wall not too far away, facing away from the fox._  
_"I heard it was a success."_  
_The fox swallowed past his dry throat. "Oh, yes. I managed to escape before the police could get their paws on me, but it was a close shave."_  
_The shadow hummed. "I see. I'm sure the information I got you worked well?"_  
_The fox grinned, even if Omega couldn't see it. "Of course. They thought it would be at 12:30, I did it close to midnight. And it was terribly easy to get the rabbit outside. I couldn't get Wilde, but I didn't plan to this time."_  
_A brief silence. Then: "Let him get used to seeing you. It'll be easier to bring him to me. And I assume the reporter will be playing a vital role as well." He turned fully, allowing the fox a glance at his cold eyes. "She was there. In the bar. A coincidence?" the fox asked, not sure what to expect as a reply._  
_Omega laughed darkly, but didn't answer the question. The fox stepped closer, close enough to see the intricate designs on the mask, the almost psychedelic whorls gleaming black as pitch. "Perhaps if you gave me a name, I could contact you sooner, and easier," he murmured. That may not have been true; the fox was curious, and he wanted to know who this Omega really was._  
_It'd be easier to stab him in the back at the last second then._  
_The fox never planned on sticking around. He would get his money, and his prize, and would, finally, eliminate Omega. His plan was never to just leave. That was a coward's stance. He would take what he was supposed to, then would keep Omega's head as a trophy. But it would be easier to track him down if he had a real name and not an alias._  
_"No, I don't think I will," Omega said candidly, and the fox heard the malice in his voice like a coating of ice. "What about you, little fox? You have a real name."_  
_The fox froze, eyes darting around. "Do I?" His voice was casual, but he tried to ignore the thrum of suspicion. "Even if I did," he said. "I wouldn't tell you, unless you tell me."_  
_Blue eyes flashed. "I do not need to hear your foolish bargains. I have the upper hand here, don't I, Aidan?"_  
_Aidan. It was a name he had had once, but used no longer. A name and a fox he had buried over the years under a bed of ice and snow. A shard of glass from the window of his past. He stepped back, unnerved._  
_"I- I don't-what-" It was the first time he had stuttered and spluttered like this in years. He was used to being cool and professional, but he had been caught off guard at such a magnitude that not being shocked didn't seem like an option. Omega laughed again. "I like knowing who's doing the killing, Aidan," he said, mirroring his first attempt to get Omega's name. "I did my research, and my field of study has roots in places you'll never imagine."_  
_The fox- Aidan -felt as if Omega had taken something essential from him. He had taken his identity, his false face, his mask, so like the one that covered Omega's visage. He managed to steady his breathing and take another step back. Omega just smiled yet again, his white teeth gleaming like coins. "I think, now that you have a name, I would be required to use it, won't I?"_  
_The fox snarled, his eyes narrowing. "My name is no longer Aidan," he said. "Refrain from calling me that-"_  
_The fox's chest heaved. "I won't allow you to-"_  
_"You wont allow me to? You do not order me around, Aidan Silverfur," he roared, and the fox flinched back as yet another shard of glass pierced home. He whispered something incoherent, and put his hands up in surrender. "I meant no disrespect." He sounded as if he had been running a race, and in a way, he was; racing with Omega to see who would reach his past first. It seemed as if Omega had taken the lead. "I only meant that-"_  
_"That you are running from who you are, and you do not want me to see it." There was no pity in his voice. "It's too late, Aidan," he said, his voice enticingly soft. "You see, I already know everything about you. And you, on the other hand, know nothing about me. And we will keep it that way. Understood?"_  
_The fox bowed his head, partly in a facade of submission, partly to hide the rapidly changing emotions on his face. "Very well."_  
_"Now," said Omega, all brief brisk business now. "I have marked the next target. And make sure you do it in such a way that he recognizes her when he sees her remains, understood?"_  
_The fox murmured agreement, and Omega turned away. "I shall give you all the necessary details the next time we meet. Until tomorrow, Aidan."  
The fox turned tail and left the room._

__

_____ _

__

Judy's insides were writhing with guilt. She knew disclosing Nick's secrets was a job meant not for her, but for him, but her anger had gotten the better of her. She had opened her mouth and ruined everything, and Nick would probably never forgive her.  
She had told Bogo everything.  
She had almost broken down while doing it, but Bogo's face had remained expressionless the whole story, and she felt compelled to do the same. She had lifted her chin and spilled the truth about Trystine, and how she hadn't let him go, and that she knew next to nothing about the subject, but did know that the reason it had taken him so long to come to her aid was because of the vixen. He had pinched the bridge of his snout and sighed, then promptly dismissed her. She had heard nothing from inside, and so far, he hadn't called Nick. She balked at the thought of his reaction- already they had had a fight- what if things got more difficult? She hurried to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall, wondering when life has gotten so horrible that she was basically tattling on her best friend to their boss. It almost elicited a giggle from her, but she felt like if she opened her mouth, she would either scream, cry or throw up. She came up with numerous scenarios in her head as to what she would say to Nick and he to her, each one more comical than the last. What could she possibly say to him? _Hey, Nick, now that you mention it, I kinda spilled all your secrets to Chief Bogo and he's probably so mad at you that he'll throw your sorry tail out of the ZPD, but...no pressure._ Ugh. It was hopeless.  
She wrung out her hands, rolled her head back and straightened her spine. Damn the consequences- she'd just be adding fuel to the fire, and since it was already a pretty big fire already, she decided no more harm could be done. But that didn't stop her from hesitating and nervously edging towards the front desk, where Nick and Wolfard appeared deep in conversation. She strained her ears, but caught only a few words here and there.  
She took a deep breath. "Hey, guys."  
The wolf and fox started violently, at the same time. It would have been funny if she wasn't so panicked. She plastered a wide smile onto her face. Wolfard smiled back cheerfully, but Nick looked away. She swallowed.  
"Hey, Judy," said Wolfard. "We were just talking about this new TV show I started watch-" He broke off, peering at her in concern. "Are you okay? You look a little green."  
She tried for another smile, this one even more artificial than the last. It seemed to convince Wolfard- his shoulders relaxed visibly- but Nick had narrowed his eyes, and his ears had perked slightly. She tried to seem as if she hadn't noticed.  
"So what did Bogo want?" Wolfard looked mildly concerned. "Not something huge, right?"  
She swallowed past her suddenly dry throat. "Oh, uh, about Bogo..." She cast around for some sort of excuse, then gave up. "He wanted to know about the authenticity of our reports."  
Nick tensed visibly. She caught her breath, waiting, but he said nothing. Finally Judy broke the silence. "That's all," she said.  
Wolfard took one look at their expressions- matching fear mingled with defiance and anger- and hastened to say, "So, great talk, you guys. I'll just- I mean-" He pointed at the desk, then at his office, then at Clawhauser. "I'm just gonna go." He practically left tire marks behind as he raced out of the vicinity at full speed and hastily shut the door of his office.  
Judy turned fully to face her partner. She was not scared of him. Okay, maybe she was, like, a little, but that didn't count. She took a deep breath and looked directly at him, trying to stop the uneven stutters of her heartbeat.  
He turned as well, but only partway, the tension between them crackling like electricity. He tilted his head, almost surveying her. Before he could even open his mouth, she had spoken.  
"I told Bogo. I told him everything."  
He merely stared at her, not a sliver of expression on his face. If he was angry, she certainly couldn't tell. "It was wrong of you to omit such an important detail. She could find out we were on duty, and she will, and when she does it will not be pretty. She could ruin it all. That was the only thing I could think of, Nick, I did it with the best intentions-"  
"Oh, that explains a lot," he said idly. She could hear the undercurrent of anger and betrayal that put the lie to his deceptively calm tone. "It certainly shows that if you care more about your job than about the people you work with, this is what you'll be lowered to, telling other people's secrets like it's their own."  
Her breath caught. "Nick, no, it's not like that-"  
"Then how is it? What if I told you I was going to go and tell him myself? What if I told you I'd come clean right after I gave in the report? What would you have done then?"  
She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Her tone sounded outraged to her own ears. "But you didn't, that's just it. You didn't tell him-"  
"What if I was going to go right now?"  
"Then how was I supposed to know that, Nick, I'm not-"  
"Because you were supposed to trust me!" He turned fully, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering with anger. "You're supposed to trust me. And that's the bottom line if this- whatever we have. If you don't even have the decency to hold yourself back from tattling, then how are we supposed to work together?"  
A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind at the speed of light, he she couldn't think of a single thing to say. He continued, rubbing salt in the wound. "Maybe the fact that we're in this mess isn't my fault after all."  
A scratchy sort of gasp escaped her throat, so quiet even she barely heard it. Without thinking, mind blank and empty, she turned blindly and ran away, away from the words that had, despite everything, hit her right where it hurt, where she was weak. Her guilt, her festering self-doubt. _He must know me well,_ she thought distantly as she ran. _He knows exactly what to say to make it hurt the most._ She pushed the doors open, feeling tears pressing at her eyelids. She thought she heard someone call her name, but she was already gone. 

Nick stared out of the window in his and Judy's office, not knowing how to feel. His anger was justified, and so was hers, but he wasn't ready to admit it. It had begun raining again, the sky an unfathomable white. The drops streaked the window, blurring the sight of the street outside and rendering the car lights as neon lines in yellow and red. He sighed and turned away from the pattering of the rain, wondering not so idly where his partner had run off to. Clawhauser had called her name as she ran, but she hadn't looked back. Nobody had told Bogo, who still hadn't called Nick to him so that he could be fried and served for dinner, and the tension sat coiled inside him, ready to spring up at the first opportunity. He exhaled, trying to let his limbs relax. He eyed his phone, debating silently whether or not to call her.  
_She won't pick up._  
_Of course she will, it'll show that you care._  
_But you just had a huge fight, she'll be angry._  
_But if you don't call her, she'll be even more angry._  
He sighed and picked up the phone, thumbing through his contacts till he reached Judy's. His finger hovered over the call button for a few seconds before he steeled himself and pressed it. He caught his breath as he put the phone to his ear, wondering if he had done the right thing. It rang and rang and rang, and he found himself hoping that she wouldn't pick up and hoped she would pick up at the same time. He heard a click, and drew in a surprised breath that was part relief. Then:  
_"Hey, you've reached Judy Hopps. Sorry I couldn't pick up your call, but you can leave me your message after the beep!"_ A loud _beep_ sounded, and Nick withdrew the phone, disappointed and a little scared. Where was she? She'd never go back to the flat, she wasn't so reckless as to just run away. He had just made up his mind to get Clawhauser to call her when he heard a small noise from his fax machine. He pressed the button, wary. "What's up?"  
"Hey, Nick," said Clawhauser's voice, crackling down the line. "Bogo wants to see you in his office."  
Nick's stomach jumped. "Okay, be right there," he said, and switched it off.  
He loosed a breath. Time for Judgement Day. He headed towards Bogo's office, chewing on his lip. He knocked.  
"Come in."  
Nick pushed the door open, swallowing. It'd be okay, it wasn't like Bogo could fire him at this stage. Or could he? He'd fired Judy once, kind of. He edged into the room, glancing at the Cape buffalo as he did. His face was devoid of expression, as it had been for the last couple of days. Nick sat cautiously at a nod from Bogo, and watched, arrested, as he slid on his reading glasses and peered at a few papers on his desk. A couple of minutes elapsed, then, finally, he spoke.  
"Well, Wilde, someone has let slip that you met the vixen reporter at the bar on the night of the undercover." Nick winced, trying to come up with an excuse. "I thought it was an unimportant...detail?"  
Bogo glowered at him, and he slumped back in his seat, defeated. "I didn't want to mention it. There was already so much going on, and if you had to cope with the threat of the press too, it'd have been too much. I'd have mentioned later. Really," he added when Bogo raised a brow. "I would have."  
Bogo sighed, shuffling the papers. "I believe you," he muttered, and Nick's brows shot up, almost against his will. Bogo caught the glance and grunted. "And damn me if I know why." He took off his glasses. "It was a large detail to omit, Wilde, and if I was playing by the rules, I'd have you stripped of your badge and doing community service until you learned the meaning of honesty. However, I am not playing by the rules, and so will kindly forget this incident. If it happens again, community service," he said, glaring. "I need you out there, Wilde. You and Hopps. If you don't solve this case..." He looked old suddenly, an experience being his years showing in his eyes. It vanished a moment later. "If you don't solve this case," he repeated, "it could cost you everything."

Nick shut the door of Bogo's office, feeling oddly like a kid who'd gone into the principal's office expecting to be expelled and had gotten a warning instead. He turned away feom the door, expecting a deserted lobby, except for maybe Clawhauser. He headed across the marble floor, padding towards the office, when he stopped dead. Sitting on Clawhauser's desk and talking him was none other than Judy. He stared for a couple of seconds, hoping she wouldn't be angry, then realised he wasn't all too ready to forgive her at all. That meant she wasn't either.  
He hurried across the lobby before either Judy of Clawhauser could see him, then shut the office door, mind whirling. He fetched up against the door, wondering what he could possibly say to her. He searched inside himself. Yes, he was still angry. No, he did not want to fight with her. Maybe, things could go back to normal?  
He had just settled down with Omega's profile when the door opened and Judy walked in. He nodded at her, trying to maintain a straight face, and he saw her nod back, but her chin was tilted up defiantly and she refused to make eye contact. He tried to seem as if the file interested him, but really, he was reading the sentence _Den in Sahara Square was stripped, no weapons found_ over and over again without absorbing the meaning. He was looking at Judy out of the corner of his eye. She was reading some papers and biting her lip, and she, like him, didn't seem to really see what she was reading; her eyes drifted in and out of focus every two seconds.  
Time seemed to move too slowly, and it felt like an eternity had passed when the clock struck 7:00 in the evening, signalling the end of their shift. They still hadn't said a single word to each other the whole day, and Nick's nerves were fraying with impatience and mutiny; he didn't want to speak to her if she had gone and told Bogo everything, it was his secret to disclose. He also didn't like the constant silence. The car ride was equally quiet, if not more so; Nick drove, and Judy put her head on the glass of the window and dozed a little. He pulled up at her flat and was debating whether to shake her awake or say her name when she opened her eyes and jumped out of the car without a word to him. He followed, vexed.  
Judy fumbled for her keys and fit it to the lock, then stopped. "Huh," she said, and it was the first thing she'd said to him since that morning. "That's funny," she continued. Nick frowned. "What?"  
She looked up at him, worrying at her lip. "The door's unlocked. I could've sworn I locked it..." She pushed it open, cautiously, clearly mindful of the fact that it might be a burglar, or worse. Nick definitely thought so. There was a scuffling noise from inside, and Judy, instead of stepping away, moved forward, unafraid as always. She opened the door, then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was inside. Nick tried to see what it was, but the door blocked his view. Just when he was going to ask Judy what happened, she spoke, her tone colored with incredulity and shock. Her ears shot up so fast they were gray blurs. She stepped back, her paw flying to her mouth.  
_"Mom?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something I love about my OTP fighting. I love it when my OTP fights for some reason. I don't know why, but even when I was reading _Lord of Shadows_ , when Emma and Julian fight, I was, like, satisfied. I don't know, there's something really sexy about your OTP fighting, and I wanted to get that feel here. I don't think I really did it right, but I gave it a shot. Oh, well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations, confessions, and meetings. The parents have arrived, and meeting the family is always a stressful concept, especially when you're not exactly welcome. It's time to open up, and it's time to get out there. There's always someone out there willing to listen, and it takes a while to find that person. When Nick and Judy are confronted with the truth, they can either face it or disgrace it. Janus has arrived, and they need to choose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the lateness, I had tests and needed to get them out of the way. This chapter is sort of a filler, and thus is quite short. I expect chapter 8 will compensate for it.  
> Also (I am fanboying SO MUCH) I had a lovely bit of fanart for the last bit of chapter 5 by MoonlightWanderer on deviantart, and I seriously think it's the most beautiful thing on this planet. Check it out here:  
> https://avalon-z.deviantart.com/art/No-You-Won-t-702707029

Judy couldn't believe her eyes.  
It was like Bunnyburrow had suddenly cropped up into her flat. The sight of her parents- her mother with her soft gray fur and wide violet eyes, wearing her favorite pink plaid blouse, and her father in his usual overalls and his brown fur and eyes- was familiar, but the sight of them here, in Zootopia, in her flat, was totally incongruous. Her _parents._ In _Zootopia._ She shook her head, unable to do much else. "You guys- what are you-"  
"Judy, why haven't you been picking up our calls?" Her mother interrupted her stutters, hurrying forward and folding her daughter into her arms. Judy protested weakly, but was grateful for the affection. "We've been trying to call you for weeks!"  
Judy drew away, blinking. "Oh, about that-"  
"You look so tired, your arms are all bruised, and your apartment- well, it's better than the last one, but it looks so untidy, and the whole place smells like fox. What have you been up to, young lady?"  
Judy blushed at the last statement, hoping Nick hadn't heard. He probably had. Her father bounded up to her, shaking his head. "Jude, I've called you about eight thousand and eleven times this past week. Why didn't you pick up? We got so worried, we decided to drop by and see what was happening. Is everything okay?"  
Judy was saved answering by the sudden appearance of Nick, who had come around the door, a cold expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows at the strange sight, but said nothing. Both her parents stared. Finally Judy broke the silence, wondering how this must look to her parents, and to Nick. "Um, mom, dad, Nick's been staying here the past week or so, and..." She didn't know quite what to say next. It seemed self-explanatory.  
"He's been _staying_ here?" her mother hissed, not so quietly. "Judy, I don't know what to say, we-"  
"He's a fox," her father said, and he sounded incredulous, as if he knew she knew better. She blinked slowly, looking back and forth between them. "I don't see what that has to do with anything, we're partners."  
Her father's eyes were growing steadily wider, and his brows were climbing higher and higher. "But Jude, it doesn't matter. He-" Almost as if remembering only then that Nick was right there, he flushed and broke off.  
"You know what, I think I'll just step out for a minute," Nick said, his tone frozen. "I'll leave you guys to it." Judy protested, moving towards him, but he shook her off, looking back. "It's fine," he said irritably. With that, he turned and swept from the room, closing the door as he went. It didn't slam, but the soft click made her flinch all the same.  
"Guys, why do you have to- he's my friend," she said plaintively, rubbing at her face. "Can't you bear with it for once in your lives? You work with Gideon, how is Nick any different?"  
Her mother had the grace to look ashamed. "Sorry, honey, you know we're still not too comfortable with it, and you said he's staying with you and all." She patted her daughter's cheek, and sighed. "Well, if that's how it is," she said, and sounded tired but amused, "go after him."  
Judy looked up, not entirely sure she had heard correctly. "What?"  
"Go after him, he won't have gone far," she said, ignoring her husband's splutters of protest. "You'll lose him if you don't hurry. Like you said, you're partners. You should stick together." She opened the door, ushering Judy out. "Go on, we can talk later!" Planting a hasty kiss on her daughter's cheek, her mother waved her out and closed the door. 

Jury raced through the street, the shock of seeing her parents still not having worn off. The night was cold, but she felt warm as she turned the corner she had seen Nick round. She knew ignoring their calls had practically been begging for trouble, but had persisted anyway. Now she had to tell them what was going on, and their worry would add to her own, and Nick's.  
She'd never been in this part of town before, she thought as she turned the corner. It was like an explosion of sights and sounds, surrounding her suddenly. She had to stop a moment and absorb it all, the neon lights and shouting mammals and the buzz of activity in the air. She saw Nick disappear into a small shed, and after a second's hesitation, went after him, weaving through the crowd. For once she was grateful for her height; she made her way easily under arms and heads. She opened the door of the shed, not entirely sure what the place was. It looked like a garage from the outside. Inside was a flight of stairs, leading into darkness. She cautiously descended the rickety stairs, emerging into a small, crowded space.  
She was swallowed by the thick crowd instantly, the arms and legs acting like a tide; they swept her away, and she wasn't strong enough to resist. Finally, it spat her out near a bar, where she saw her partner, drumming his fingers on the counter. She gasped for breath, and called out before she could think. "Nick!"  
His eyes widened as he turned, and his lips shaped her name, but it was too quiet for her to hear it. She pushed towards him, a question burning on her lips, but just as she was going to ask it, someone emerged from the door behind the bar, a flushed, pleasant-faced someone, a badger, wearing a frayed coat and a huge smile. She stopped short when she saw Judy and Nick, the smile slipping off her face. "Hey, Nick!" she shouted. It was just loud enough to hear, but not too loud, nor was it too soft. Practice, thought Judy, pitched this badger's voice at just the right amplitude for them to hear. He turned, and she pointed a thumb at a flight of stairs winding upward. He nodded, then beckoned for Judy to follow. She did, feeling thoroughly bewildered.  
They emerged behind the bar, into a clear, breezy street. The badger smiled at Judy, and held out a paw. "Never thought I'd ever get to meet the fabled Judy Hopps. I'm Sheila," she said, and Judy shook her paw, feeling out of place in her uniform. "Oh. Um, hi."  
She looked at Nick, feeling lost, and he cracked a smile. "Sheila's an old friend."  
"Oh," she said again. "Nick, I'm-"  
"Come on," he interrupted, jerking his head towards the street. "Let's walk." Judy complied, looking downwards and feeling awkward. Sheila the badger spoke again. "So, Judy- mind if I call you Judy?"  
She started. "Oh. Um-"  
"Great! Anyway, Judy, I've heard a ton about you from Mr. Fox here," she said, winking at Nick, who grinned and shook his head. "Poor thing doesn't talk about anything else but you. 'Judy can do this, she could fix that, it would all be easier if Judy was here.' I was worrying I'd fall in love with you at first sight."  
Judy was sure her face was as red as it felt. She felt oddly pleased. "Well," she said. "Am I living up to your expectations?"  
Sheila looked delighted. "Seems a little too early for all that, huh?" She smiled. "What were you doing at the Stag? Looked like he wasn't expecting you to be there."  
Judy shrugged, scuffing the ground with her foot. "I guess he wasn't," was all she said. Sheila raised a brow. "Okay, explains a lot," she muttered. Nick shrugged stiffly. "Judy and I had a fight," he said. "That's all."  
Sheila searched his face, and Judy could see that she saw more than he let on. "Aha. Well then, I'd better go-"  
"No," said Nick, and there was a sudden vulnerability in his face. "Don't go. It's okay."  
She put a brief paw on his arm, murmuring something too soft for even Judy to hear. He smiled a little.  
Judy marvelled at what was unfolding before her. It seemed like a regular friendship, like theirs might have been, but something whose roots reached far deeper. She seemed to see him, see Nick, and connect with him on another level. It was odd, and while Judy had been outright jealous of Trystine, she oddly wasn't jealous of Sheila. It seemed almost impossible to dislike Sheila. She smiled a little, to herself.  
"So, how's the case coming?" Sheila asked casually, kicking a stray rock from her path. Judy shrugged. The shrug depicted several kinds of not knowing at once. "Okay, I guess." Sheila raised a brow, and she deflated. "It's going terribly, actually. Everything's ruined, we're so behind, we were too late...yeah, it's going terribly." She tipped her head up, seeing a sky that was still the darkest indigo, like undiluted blue ink. She could see a few stars, but the light pollution blocked most of it. The moon was a pale smudge among the dark clouds and darker sky.  
She heard Sheila say, "Sometimes things start out badly. It doesn't mean the whole thing's gonna flop. You've only scratched the surface of this. Now you gotta get out there, do things right. It'll be okay, I'm sure of it. Couple months and I'm gonna be watching TV and I see a huge report about how Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde solved this case, and I'm gonna know it turned out all right in the end. Everything does, you'll see." She sounded absolutely confident as she spoke, as if she knew she was right, and they would do it. She had the exact faith in them Judy lacked. It was humbling in its own backward way.  
She smiled at the badger. "Nice to know someone thinks we'll make it out," she said, stuffing her paws in her pockets. Sheila laughed. "Nick told me you were really optimistic. Like, the antiaircraft military tank of optimism. Aren't you this time?"  
Judy looked at Sheila's open, curious face, and wondered how this badger had gotten her so quickly. "Not much to be optimistic about, is there? We just failed a mission."  
Sheila shrugged. "So? You were the first bunny cop Zootopia had ever seen, and you didn't back down. You were given an impossible deadline, and you did it. I'm not entirely sure that was easy. This should be something like that, right? What about the Impossible-is-nothing-and-I'll-do-it-anyhow sort of attitude? That's the Judy Hopps Nick told me about. Where'd she go?"  
Judy blinked, looking straight ahead but not seeing anything. "I..." She didn't know what to say. Sheila seemed to get past the near invisible chink in the armor, the hidden Achilles heel, and tell her exactly what she needed to hear.  
"I don't know," she said finally. "I don't know where she is."  
"Wherever she is, yank her back," Sheila said. "Tell her it's time to get up and get messy, 'cause this ain't going to be easy. Hopefully she'll be back in a couple days." She smiled, and Judy felt something light up in her where all had been dark. Something that has been slumbering inside her opened an eye. She smiled back. "Maybe she will be."  
Nick sighed, and Judy jumped. She'd nearly forgotten he was there. "It's getting late, guys. Sheila, we've kept you from work for a bit too long. Judy, we have to get back, your parents will probably think I dragged you off somewhere and ate you."  
Judy snickered at the thought. "Let's head back," she agreed.  
Just before Sheila turned away, she nudged Judy. "Take care of him," she said, nodding at Nick. "He's a good guy. And as for you, Judy, keep your chin up. I'll see you around."  
"I definitely hope so," Judy replied with absolute sincerity. "Bye, Sheila."  
She winked. "Laters." With a cheery wave, she turned and walked away. A few paces later, she had dissolved into shadows.

The walk back was silent, and Judy watched as the dark blue of the sky faded slowly to black. They were a few blocks away from her apartment when Nick spoke. "Why did you do it?"  
She turned, her eyes still full of the night sky. "Do what?"  
He wasn't looking at her. "Come after me."  
She blinked, shrugging. "I would've, even if my mom hadn't told me to go after you. Yeah," she said when he looked at her dubiously. "She said that if you mattered to me, I'd go after you. I realized she was right."  
"If I mattered to you," he echoed, softly. "And do I?"  
"What do you think, you dumb fox? Why do you think I kept you around all these years? Your good looks?" She snorted. "Nick, you matter to me more than I matter to myself." She shrugged, feeling awkward. "And I'm sorry for not trusting you. Guess that makes me a dumb bunny again, huh? I keep proving you right." She looked at the ground as she spoke, the flowering cracks across the pavement and the sheen of oil that cast arcs of color across water puddles.  
"I am sorry," she said. "It was wrong of me to say something you had to say. And you want to know the reason he wanted to take me with him?"  
He was silent. She continued, feeling her heart beat faster with every word she said. "He said that he wanted me for...for-"  
She turned away, tears pressing at her eyelids. "He wanted me as a plaything. Something that would obey him and submit. He wanted me to warm his bed." She felt her face twist with revulsion, and her eyes burned. She wiped at her face angrily. "That's all he wanted. That's why he wanted me. It was just so _humiliating_ , hearing that. It made me feel so worthless."  
She sighed and stared into space, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. Nick still said nothing, and she feared he never would until: "You didn't have to tell me. If you didn't want to." His voice sounded oddly tight and constricted. She shrugged as her apartment loomed up above them. "It was only fair."  
"Just because it's fair doesn't mean you had to tell me." His throat worked as if he was swallowing, and he burst out, "He...did he-"  
"No," she said, quietly. "No, he-he didn't. But if you hadn't come when you did..." She let the words hang, their ugly meaning staining the clear night. She swallowed. "I was so afraid," she whispered. "I thought I was prepared for anything, but when I heard this...I didn't know. I still don't, and I'm scared I never will." She sighed. "I just can't bring myself to tell my parents."  
Nick looked at her, brows raised. "You haven't been picking up their calls. They've been worried, of course they've been worried. You can't possibly have expected anything else. I know I didn't." He smiled without humor. "If you ignore something, it'll be the only thing you won't be able to face. You ignored them, they're here. I'm actually surprised they didn't show up sooner." She grumbled something, and he shrugged. "Anyway, time to face it. Tell them. And maybe I'll find a hotel or something to stay in, because I'm sure they-"  
"No," she said firmly. "You are coming and you are going to stay with me and you are not going to complain. If you're not there, I'll go crazy."  
He grinned. "I've been waiting for the day you realized that," he said with a wink. She smiled a little as they reached the door. She felt a tightness in her chest, the faint residue of panic speeding up her heartbeat. They climbed the stairs and she put her paw on the doorknob, her heart in her mouth.  
Nick gently pushed it open for her, and they walked inside, Nick closing the door behind her.  
At first she saw nothing: the apartment seemed totally empty. Then she saw her mother cleaning up the kitchen and her father tinkering with the radio, music tinnily spilling from its small speakers. He hummed along as he found the right song and turned with a start as the door closed. "Jude!" He hurried over, giving her a one-armed squeeze. She smiled at him, laying a paw on his shoulder. "Good to see you, dad."  
As she turned to survey the now-spotless kitchen, she saw out if the corner of her eye, her father sizing Nick up; though he was almost a whole foot shorter, Nick looked distinctly uncomfortable. She smiled to herself, and her mother caught it; she smiled back, then ushered Judy to the couch, which, Judy noticed (blushing profusely and hoping her mother wouldn't notice) _did_ smell like fox.  
"Young lady," Bonnie Hopps declared in her best you-are-so-busted voice. "You have a lot of explaining to do." 

Nick sat on the kitchen counter and listened as she began to speak, weaving a story familiar to him. She began with the day they saw the tape, and her voice dropped apologetically as she reached the events of the undercover. Her mother seemed stoic but concerned, but her dad was brimming with fatherly fear.  
"Your arms," wailed Stu. "They're all bruised. Is it because..."  
"Yes," Judy said softly but firmly. "It is, but I am fine. I've suffered worse-"  
"That's no excuse," he said gruffly. "And why have you been avoiding our calls?"  
Judy winced. "About that," she laughed nervously. "Um, well..." Her parents looked back at her and she succumbed.  
"I didn't want to worry you," she murmured. "I knew you'd be really scared, and I'd have had a job trying to convince you guys, and you were already so unhappy with me being a cop and being with-" She broke off and blushed, but neither of her parents noticed. Nick did, though, and he felt a twinge of some strange emotion go through him.  
"Oh, sweetie, you know we're just worried about you, and you're still so young," said her mother kindly, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulders. Nick was reminded irresistibly of Sheila, and her calm smile that seemed to be like an anchor to him. She and Judy had taken to each other alarmingly fast, but then again, Sheila could befriend Mr. Big's Polar bear guards if she wanted to. She was oddly perceptive, and could see through anyone like glass. Some mammals might have found that unnerving, but Nick found it grounding. She saw him, and she accepted it, and that was all.  
"You should have called though," her father said unhappily. "We were really scared-"  
"I'm sorry, guys," Judy said, her voice oddly thick and muffled, and without warning, she reached out and pulled them both into a hug.  
They clung to her, and she buried her face into their shoulders, and he saw her shoulders relax when they had been rigid for weeks.  
He tore his eyes away, unable to bring himself to intrude upon this family reunion. He quietly slipped into the hall away from the sounds of Judy's soft sobs and her parents' consoling voices, and wished, for the first time, that he possessed something as special as a family.

"Call us during lunch!" Bonnie called, leaning out of the window and watching as Nick and Judy got into the car. "And text during breaks!"  
Judy sighed, and Nick heard it. He grinned to himself and turned on the car.  
"Okay, mom, bye!" Judy slammed the car door, leaning back and smiling a little as Nick slid on his aviators and the car peeled away from the curb.  
"She's never gonna let me go now, huh?" She tilted her head and looked at him questioningly, and a little apologetically. "Anyway, never got to say it, but sorry for- um, yesterday night. They're still getting used to-" She made a wide gesture, as if to encompass all the events of the past few weeks.  
"You don't have to apologize, Carrots, it's all part of the job," he said, weaving expertly in and out of the traffic that laced the city. "I'm all about being the awkward fox in a house full of bunnies."  
Judy huffed out a laugh. "Now that you mention it," she said. "And how was the experience?"  
Nick was silent for a moment. The light they were waiting at turned green, and the car sped forward. "Too many fluffy tails," he said finally.  
Judy burst out laughing. "I can't imagine the state of you if you ever visit Bunnyburrow," she giggled, "There'll be two hundred and seventy-five fluffy tails."  
"Two hundred and seventy-five and counting." Nick couldn't help it. "You rabbits are busy mammals."  
Judy hit him lightly on the arm. "Shut up," she said, but she was grinning. "It's not our fault we're- well-"  
Nick snickered. "What?"  
She blushed, then swatted his arm again. "You walked right into that one," he commented, parking carefully.  
She muttered something inaudible about sly foxes, and he hid his grin behind his glasses. Everything was normal, eerily so. Last night they could hardly look at each other, and while he was happy things had cleared up, he still felt the closeness that he could never fully appreciate, the effect she had on him. He was as intensely happy as he was miserable, and was exhausted from being pulled in two such different directions at once. How could you laugh and cry at once? Could your heart be broken, but your soul be happy, at the same time?

_The little file lay on the desk, seemingly innocent and harmless, its cheery green cover gleaming under the lamplight. Its contents were also rather dull- details; names, locations, other uninteresting things. But to the fox it was more than that. It was assurance, that he would do what he would do flawlessly. It was evidence, that there was a reason for what he did. It was clearance, that a life would be taken, and he would do the taking._  
_He opened it, glancing down at the printed words. There was a photo, of a cheerfully smiling mammal, and her name below it. She was the first death, thought the fox. The first death that would find its way into the hearts of the masses. Into the heart of Zootopia and corrupt it, driving it inside out. She would be lured away, of course, into a place a little darker, a little damper, a little deeper. Then there would be a sputter, and the flame would go out._  
_"I have a plan," he said presently, to Omega, who was sitting across from him on the little wooden table._  
_"I plan to get Wilde this time. This will bring him out, I'm sure of it."_  
_"And do you have a plan, or must I give that to you as well?"_  
_The fox ignored the jab. "A plan is in order. I know what to do. I want to get him into the scene, and let him see her body. Then-"_  
_"Make sure he sees her face," Omega interrupted. "I want him to know that the hand behind this will have no mercy."_  
_The fox nodded distractedly. "I will. I'll catch him by surprise."_  
_"Splendid. And I find that I tire of your presence. Perhaps I will see you some other time. Leave now, Aidan."_  
_The fox, unable to help it, flinched. He got up and swept towards the door._  
_"And, Aidan?" Omega's voice rang out from behind him. He stopped, but didn't turn._  
_"Next time, make sure you're not caught. It'd be a rather messy business if you were, and if they ask who guides your hand," he paused. "Take this."_  
_The fox turned to see a small oblong shape in Omega's gloved paw. He slowly walked towards him and took it, glancing down. His eyes widened. It was, unmistakably, a pill. A dark indigo color, a poisonous hue that seemed to emit a sinister purpose._  
_"You would do well to put that in your pocket," Omega said softly. "Somewhere you can reach it easily."  
Unable to think of anything to say, the fox nodded and turned away, slipping the pill into his pocket and closing the door behind him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene in the beginning was sort of inspired by a deleted scene, one where Judy takes Nick to her place before visiting Bellweather. She finds here parents there, and they've brought a bit of Bunnyburrow with them, and obviously aren't too pleased to see Nick. The dialogue is a bit along those lines, and I really loved that idea, so I've kind of written something similar to it.  
> And enter Sheila for the second time, and it's not the last time, either, mind you. I liked the idea of her as a comforting presence, and she's inspired by a friend of mine who I feel like I can't get on without. Hope you like her as much as I do, and please leave reviews in the comments, they mean a lot to us!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interviews, plans and veiled threats. It's time to face the one thing that may ruin it all for Nick and Judy. The one thing that keeps the scales from tipping, the one thing that keeps the public in check...it's time to think of the threat of the press. Spurred on by plans for another mission, Nick and Judy have no choice but to meet with a certain someone who has the potential to destroy the plans, the missions, the whole case. And it is not going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like chapter 7 was too small and hurriedly written, so here I am with chapter 8, all early, and pretty longish, too! Yay! Anyhow, we meet a certain vixen again in this chapter, and it is so much fun writing that character, so I hope my efforts to create a unique sort of personality are appreciated. Do tell me what you think in the comments, and enjoy!

The day was frighteningly normal. Chief Bogo didn't spare them so much as a glance, Clawhauser was cheery as always, and Wolfard was yammering away about the newest episode of _Shrew Detective_. Nick was only half-listening to him.  
"...and, of course, there's always the huge beach balls," Wolfard said.  
Nick started, turning. "What?"  
"I've been talking to you for the past ten minutes, man. Where's your mind?"  
Nick shrugged, sipping his latte. "Judy's parents paid us- her- a little visit."  
"Really?" He sounded wearily amused. "And is that a good thing?"  
Nick shrugged. "Depends. They're a little... They don't like foxes all too much."  
Wolfard grinned. "Meeting the parents. Stressful, huh?"  
Nick managed not to choke by coughing. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean," he said, enunciating every word clearly, "that there's always a risk factor, because Judy doesn't know you- you know."  
Nick coughed again, but didn't reply. He stood abruptly. "Hey, there's Clawhauser. Haven't seen the guy in ages. Catch you later, Wolfard."  
He hurried away, but not before he heard Wolfard's voice float towards him, saying one word in a low voice, though Nick still caught it.  
_"Denial"_  
Nick slumped onto Clawhauser's desk, beside Judy. She smiled up at him. "Hey, Slick. Glad to see you remembered me."  
"Ah, Carrots, I'd have to be dead to forget you. And that's not an entirely impossible prospect, seeing as your parents clearly have a thing or two to say about me. I swear your dad wanted to skin me for a rug."  
Judy grinned. "A fox-butt rug?"  
Nick tried to hide his reminiscent grin. "I am going to kindly forget you said that."  
"I think your butt'd look great on my kitchen floor, don't you think? Just the right amount of jazz."  
"Did you just call my butt jazzy? Because that is just weird. Bunnies don't have such forward ideas, in my experience."  
"Your experience, huh? What other bunnies do you have experience with besides me?"  
Nick looked down at her with what he hoped was a condescending expression. "Plenty."  
Judy made a face. "By plenty, you mean one."  
"I've been around," he said snidely, smiling. "I've seen some strange things in my time. Bunnies included. And, wow," he continued, feigning surprise. "Would you look at the time. We've got work to do, detective Hopps, and we can't afford any lazing." He smiled witheringly, and she returned it.  
"Insults," she said, sighing. "I guess that means you're back to normal." She grinned, and Nick laughed and turned to say goodbye to Clawhauser, who had been looking back and forth between them as if watching a particularly interesting tennis match. Ignoring his stupefied expression, Nick waved, and headed with his partner towards their office.

Judy scribbled something on a piece of paper, blowing out a breath. "Okay," she said. "Plans for a stakeout. Do we just hang around waiting?"  
"No," Nick said, yawning widely. "That's what we did last time, and...well, you know what happened last time."  
His gaze went to the bruises on her wrists, and she yanked her sleeve down defensively, turning away. "Okay," she said, trying to sound upbeat. "Give me ideas."  
Nick leaned towards her, sliding an arm around the back of her chair. She stiffened, feeling the heat radiating from his fur. She felt cold creeping up her spine and just suppressed a shiver. "Well," he said, and she felt his breath stir her ears and really did shiver this time, a small movement that he didn't catch. He went on.  
"Maybe we should take a car and pretend we're supposed to be there."  
She frowned. "We _are_ supposed to be there."  
"What I meant was, disguise ourselves, you know?"  
"Like last time. Nick, it might not work." She threw down the paper. "Maybe we should just hang around waiting. We'll take a bunch of weapons and we'll have backup."  
"Backup's too risky. Too many mammals in one place will be suspicious," said Nick, frowning. "Weapons, fine. We'll just keep to the shadows till we find something."  
He withdrew his arm, drawing away, and she felt a twinge of both relief and disappointment at the sudden absence of warmth.  
"I hope it works," he said quietly, and just when Judy was about to reply, her phone rang. Judy sighed, seeing her mother's name on the screen. She smiled at Nick and picked it up, putting the phone to her ear. "Hi, mom."  
"Hey, sweetheart, how's everything going?"  
"Fine," Judy said, picking up a pencil and doodling on a bit of paper. "We were planning for a stakeout."  
"A stakeout? So soon? Honey, you're still healing-"  
"Mom, I am fine. Really. If I wasn't I wouldn't have agreed."  
She heard a distant thump and a yell from the other end. She heard her father's voice, muffled slightly. "Absolutely not!"  
Judy sighed, closing her eyes. "Tell him it's fine."  
She heard a crackle, then: "She says it's fine, Stu. I trust our daughter, she'll be fine."  
Judy felt a swell of love at the back of her throat. She swallowed past it with difficulty, opening her eyes. There was a slight blur in her vision, and she blinked the mist away.  
"Thanks, mom." It was barely a whisper.  
"Oh, honey, you know we love you." It wasn't an explanation, not really, but to Judy it was better that any confession. "I do know. And I'll be careful. I promise."  
"That's my girl." She heard the smile in her mother's voice. "Now you two get planning, all right? Tell Nicholas I said hi!"  
Nick leaned over, putting his lips to her ear. "Hello, Mrs. Hopps," he said, grinning.  
"Take good care my daughter, Nicholas," called her mother. Judy rolled her eyes, smiling.  
"Don't you worry, Mrs. Hopps. You can count on me." He winked at Judy.  
She heard a laugh, then, "All right, bye-bye, you two!" There was a small _click._  
Judy put the phone down, shaking her head.  
Nick was looking at her oddly.  
"What?" she said, a little defiantly.  
He shook his head. "They're right to worry, they're your parents. Even if they want to skin me alive. Though I'm sure it helps," he said, a sly little smile flitting across his face, "that there's one of me and two hundred and seventy-five of you."  
She blinked at him, flummoxed, for a moment. Then she understood. She rolled her eyes, unable to stop a smile.  
"Two hundred and seventy-five and counting," she said with relish, and spun her chair to face the computer screen. She heard Nick laugh softly, then he swiveled his chair around to face the computer too.  
"So we can't take the cruiser, sadly," said Nick, pillowing his cheek on his paw as he gazed at the screen. "I'd love to just barrel in there with it, but..."  
"But we're top secret undercover disguised cops, and we can't," she finished. "We'll have to take something smaller..."  
"Hmm," said Nick. He was looking at the screen as if it held all the secrets of the universe.  
"I suggest we just wait there from, maybe, seven. We'll just hang around until someone shows."  
Judy made a face. "It's highly unlikely. Maybe we can talk to Finnick again?"  
Nick didn't look too pleased about that. "Maybe," was all he said.  
There was a sudden commotion as the intercom beeped, flashing red. Judy pressed the button, frowning at Nick as she did.  
"Hey, Nick, Judy, Chief Bogo wants to see you guys, right now," said Clawhauser's voice, crackling down the line. "He says it's urgent."  
"We're on our way," said Judy, and they exchanged apprehensive looks before leaving the room.

"Are we in trouble?" asked Nick as they headed across the lobby. "Please tell me we're not in trouble. If we're in trouble I don't know what I'll do. What if we're in trouble? I don't want to be in trouble."  
Judy spoke through gritted teeth. "If you say the word 'trouble' one more time I'll show you what it means to be in trouble."  
She shoved open the office door, and saw Bogo behind his desk, ruffling through papers. He made no move to acknowledge their presence. They hovered in the doorway.  
A few seconds elapsed.  
Then another few.  
Almost half a minute later, Bogo said, "What are you waiting for? Sit."  
They sat.  
"So, detectives, we're having some visitors over tomorrow, and it's not good news exactly, but the ZNN is dropping by."  
Judy's mouth fell open.  
"So soon?" she gasped. "It's barely been a few days!"  
Bogo frowned. "It is unusual, but I got a call just now saying that there were some pressing things they needed to ask us. You in particular, Wilde." He nodded. "I couldn't very well refuse, so I agreed. They're coming tomorrow, and I want you two to be prepared. We may have to disclose some things about the undercover, but best to keep most of it in the dark. As for the stakeout, tell them you have a plan. Don't say too much. And be careful. They will ask you odd things, and they will try to get rises out of you."  
He sighed. "Officers Fangmeyer and Wolfard will be there in the meeting room with you. I will also be present, so you don't have to worry too much." He looked worried.  
"But Chief," said Nick, "That reporter, she was there, in the bar. I don't know what she knows, but-"  
"Be careful," interrupted Bogo, shaking his head. "They know next to nothing, and we are going to keep it that way." He looked at them meaningfully, then said briskly, "I expect you to be here early tomorrow morning, at six o'clock at least. We need to prepare."  
He slid on his glasses and waved a hoof. "Dismissed!"

Nick and Judy headed back to the cruiser in silence. They had stayed late planning, and evening was in the sky, the air cold and biting. Judy sighed deeply, allowing the cold to seep into her body and release some of the tension that had been building there for so long. She reached up to start the car, yawning. She wondered idly where her parents would sleep, and where Nick would sleep. She would probably share the bed with her parents and have Nick on the couch as usual. The thought of her, her parents and Nick all under one roof seemed like a horrifying prospect. Especially when it was _her_ roof.  
They reached the flat, and Judy pushed the door open, wary. Her mother was sitting in the kitchen, reading, and her father was next to her, dozing. His head snapped up when he heard the door close behind them.  
"Hey, Jude the dude," he said jovially, and Judy blushed, knowing that Nick would never let her hear the end of that. "Hi, dad," she mumbled through her blush. Dads would be dads.  
"Tired?" her mother asked, patting her cheek. She nodded, drawing away. "A little," she said. "Nick and I are going to have an early morning, mom, we should get to bed."  
Her mother smiled imperceptibly, nodding. "Of course. H-how was your day, Nicholas?" She smiled up at Nick, who smiled back coolly, though Judy could see he was nervous. Why? she thought. It was just her mom and dad.  
"It was great, Mrs. Hopps," he replied. She swore she could see him blush. Why in the world was he so nervous? She decided to go to the rescue.  
"We're tired," she said, debating silently whether to put a paw on Nick's arm or not. Her father was definitely looking at them darkly. She warred with herself briefly, then kept her paws to herself silently. "Mom, Dad, my room is there," she said, gesturing. They set off, and she turned to her partner. He wasn't looking at her. "Well- night," she said, and he saluted. She hurried to her bedroom, where her mom and dad were waiting for her, sitting on the bed.  
"Long day," she muttered, and her dad looked at her not without concern. "When do you need to get to work?" he asked, patting the spot of bed next to him. She sank down gratefully. "Five thirty, maybe," she replied, rubbing her eyes.  
Her dad nodded. "Well, then, get to bed, Jude," he said happily, and she patted his arm, stretching out onto the bed. "Good night, guys."  
She would have heard them say it back if she hadn't fallen asleep instantly, her eyes closing and her breath beginning to even out. She was lost to the world before they could open their mouths.

Nick stared up at the ceiling, tired but unable to sleep. He didn't know how to feel; He was still in love with Judy, her parents had arrived, which made the situation a lot worse than it had been before, and now the media was arriving the next day... he was scared. He wasn't scared of many things, but Trystine, with her ice-blue eyes that seemed to see everything he didn't, did. He knew she would not hesitate to expose them and tell everyone everything; it was her job, after all. And Bogo along with Judy thought he'd be all over her, just because she was a vixen. A gorgeous vixen, granted, but really, just a vixen. He sighed, closing his eyes. He had been nervous while speaking to Judy's parents, of course he had been. What if they saw right through him and guessed that this fox wasn't interested in being "just friends" with their daughter? What if they told Judy? Then it'd be ruined. All his careful planning, the hiding, the concealing, would all go to waste. Not to mention he'd probably get kicked out of her flat. _I really do need to find another place to stay,_ he thought, nodding off. _I've clearly overstayed my welcome..._

Judy walked out of the coffee shop, carefully balancing two lattes in her paws. Nick put on his glasses as she came into the car, taking his cup from her.  
"You okay?" Judy asked him, sipping her drink and looking concerned. "You look like you haven't slept."  
Nick waved away her ministrations, starting the car. "I slept fine. You're just paranoid because we have to meet the press today."  
She muttered something, then said, "No I'm not. Well, maybe a little, but that's not the point. The point is-"  
"The point is that you forgot that I don't like sugar with coffee, and it tastes weird. You incidentally also forgot the cream." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she snatched his cup, peering into its contents. She grinned guiltily.  
"Whoops. Silly me. Guess I was-"  
"Preoccupied, because you're nervous about the press visiting." He grinned at her. She grumbled. "I love frustrating you, Carrots. It's so refreshing."  
She glared at him, rolling down her window so that the air rushed inside, lifting her ears and ruffling her fur. She turned her face upwards, the sunlight catching her fur and lighting it into a soft heather gray. He didn't realize he'd been staring until he heard a loud voice yell, "Hey, fox, watch where you're going!"  
He started, jerking the vehicle to the right to avoid hitting an indignant giraffe on the road. He waved a paw to indicate apology, and without bothering to look back to see if the giraffe had responded, he sped off.  
Judy snickered. "I remember the first time I ever saw you," she said, her voice light and teasing. "I was on parking duty, and there was this commotion, and I saw you almost getting hit by this antelope. He yelled, 'watch where you're going, fox', and you looked so suspicious I had to follow you." She smiled at the memory, leaning back in her seat.  
Nick was staring at the road, at the broken yellow line in front of him. "Then I hustled you," he said, remembering Jumbeaux's Ice Cream Parlor and Judy's naïve, open face, and her saying, _"It just burns me up to see people with such backward attitudes about foxes!"_ and he had been trying not to laugh in her face, and only just managed.  
"Yep," she sighed, smiling. "I was such an idiot that day. But I'm glad it happened, because otherwise I'd be farming carrots right now."  
There was a brief silence, then Judy caught his arm. "Nick," she said. He turned halfway, trying to park the car. "What?"  
"I think the press is here," she said, and Nick parked fully, jumping out of the car and heading with his partner into the building. They hurried over to the cheetah at the front, who smiled through his mouthful of lucky chomps and pointed to the conference room.  
They warily walked in, and to their relief, it was empty, save for Bogo and Wolfard, along with Fangmeyer. Bogo wasted no time, hurrying up to them immediately.  
"All right, detectives," he said brusquely. "Here's the plan."  
It was a relatively simple one; it involved a lot of omission, plenty of sneaking and a light dusting of the truth. Judy looked concerned and a little scandalized. Nick felt like he'd be in his element, having hustled people all his life.  
Bogo had drilled them, telling them everything they needed to say. A little while later, he went into his office and brought out a file. Glancing at it with a concerned expression, he slid on his reading glasses and read through it.  
"Wilde, this is a report of the murder at the bar the other night. The victim..." He broke off, clearing his throat. "The victim was, we believe, known by you."  
Nick's heartbeat spiked upwards. "What? Who was it?"  
"Identification indicates that this woman was the owner of the apartment you were staying in previously."  
Nick gazed at the picture, having taken the file from Bogo. He nodded numbly. "I do know her. Knew her," he corrected, feeling sick. "You're right."  
Bogo took the file back. "This is not a coincidence, Wilde. They're doing it to point evidence your way. Be on your guard."  
Nick couldn't believe this had happened. He shook his head. "But- how?" he asked, leaning against the wall. Judy put a comforting paw on his arm.  
"I don't know," she said, her eyes impossibly big and chromatic in the soft light.  
"But we're going to find out. And we're going to stop it."

It had been an hour, maybe, into the session, when they heard the screeching of tires and the slamming of car doors and the general bustle of dozens of mammals coming from outside.  
"Great," muttered Wolfard. "They're here early."  
They hardly had time to sit down when the press poured into the room. At their head was, as usual, Trystine, wearing a perfectly crisp black dress that contrasted sharply with her white fur and a permanent little smile.  
After a half hour of chaos as everybody arranged everything, she walked up to them, not even looking at the Chief, who stomped off to the other end of the room.  
"Detectives, we meet again," she said with a tinkling laugh. "And it had hardly been a few days," she went on, ignoring Judy as usual. "But then again, there are some... _pressing_ things I needed to speak to you about."  
She sat down with a flourish, the hem of her skirt drawing up her perfect legs. Nick determinedly focused on her face.  
"It was no chance meeting at the bar the other day, was it, detective?" she murmured, glancing at him. He offered her a tight smile.  
"What gives you that impression?"  
"Well, for one thing, I managed to uncover a few things you may not know I know," she replied, smiling serenely. "For instance, your undercover operation at the bar. Of course, Miss Hopps was there as well, I presume."  
He stared at her, keeping his face blank, trying not to give anything away. She took his silence for acceptance and smiled wider, looking down and affording him a glance of lashes like brushstrokes of snow.  
"Yes, we know of it. And it was, I take it, unsuccessful."  
He fought off a feeling of total exasperation and vexation. "Evidently."  
"Not entirely unsuccessful," Judy cut in, raising her chin mutinously. "We did find out quite a few tidbits of information that may aid us in going forward in the case and taking some major leads."  
Nick's head spun. She was speaking so formally, so cutting and cool and professional. Trystine narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. "And if you might disclose some of those...tidbits, as you say?"  
Judy smiled at her, a smile that matched steel for steel. It was like a face-off between two powerful queens, thought Nick; but if Judy felt disconcerted that Trystine was almost a foot taller than her, she didn't show it. Her expression seemed to say, _I may be short, but you're still beneath me._  
"I'm afraid that remains confidential among those who work at the ZPD, Miss Vulpinsion. We cannot disclose it just yet." She tilted her head and flashed a smile that thinly veiled the mockery behind it.  
Trystine drew herself up, managing to smoothen her face into a seemingly indifferent expression. "I see," she said, her lip curling. She turned away from Judy.  
"Apologies for bluntness, but the murderer does look exactly like you, Detective Wilde. Has your unfortunate but uncanny resemblance to the assailant earned mistrust within the framework of the ZPD?"  
"'Unfortunate but uncanny'," Nick echoed softly, unable to hide his smirk. "Well, I agree with the uncanny bit, but as for unfortunate..." He shook his head. "I think it is very clear that this is a masquerade, and a purposeful one at that. He has disguised himself to look like me."  
Her expression didn't change at all. "Any uncovered motive?"  
"Not yet," he said through gritted teeth.  
"Ah, yes," she said suddenly, flipping through her notes. "I only just remembered. I have an account of the body found at the back of the alley, and we have been led to believe that you knew the victim. She was your...you were her tenant, if I am not wrong."  
There was a beat. _How does she know that?_  
"You're not," he said finally. "Your point, Miss Vulpinson?"  
"Some more investigation on our side has uncovered that you were ejected for rental disagreements."  
He stared at her. The press had done more snooping that he'd let on. He said nothing.  
"There are many people saying that this has presented a motive," she said softly. "Your ejection by her hand, and her murder by yours. It rather fits into the puzzle, doesn't it?"  
Judy stood up. "I don't agree," she said, in a voice softer and deadlier than Trystine's could ever be. "That is a weak motive, too weak, and Nick wouldn't. He is not the one behind it. We arrived at the bar at twelve, at which point the murder had already happened. Your evidence doesn't stand."  
Nick put a paw on her shoulder, and she sat, burning holes through the vixen with her eyes.  
She only smiled. "I agree with you as well, Miss Hopps," she said. "But many others do not think so. And the people know about the body, as you can see," she said, holding up a newspaper. It sketched out the details of the murder, but there was, thankfully, nothing about Nick or Judy.  
"Did you see the murderer at all?"  
"Yes," Judy answered. "We did."  
The vixen raised a brow, and Nick took a deep breath. "Yes, he nearly killed me, and Judy responded in kind."  
Trystine looked astonished, but slyly so. "I see," she said. She bent her head and began to scribble down some notes.  
The rest of the interview passed well enough, with minimal interference into things they were not ready to disclose, and with emphasis on stupid things like preparation and response and litigation.  
After about two hours, Trystine finally stood, bathing him in a cloud of perfume. He gagged imperceptibly.  
"Detective Wilde, always a pleasure," she said, smiling enchantingly. "I hope we meet again sometime soon. I have to admit, I had fun at the bar," she said, fluttering her lashes. "And I had quite a bit of fun today as well. Until next time, then." She shook his hand and walked away, her hips swaying through the skirt of her dress, without so much as a glance back at Judy, who looked revolted. Nick smiled a little at her expression. He nudged her. "What?"  
She shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

The day was a blur of activity, and there was plenty for Judy to take her mind off the interview, but it kept going back to Trystine and her ridiculous flirtatious smiles and how she batted her lashes and Nick totally fell for her whole act. She had (almost) forgotten exactly how much she hated that vixen. And she didn't even know why. Maybe it was because she had Nick all over her, or maybe it was just that fact that she was press and they were natural enemies to begin with. It could also have something to do with how gorgeous she was, and how tall she was, and how inadequate Judy felt around her.  
Or so it seemed.  
Bogo had, of course, interrogated them about what they asked and how they answered, and seemingly satisfied, he sent them to plan for the stakeout and they didn't see him for the rest of the day, except at mealtimes, where his head was bent and he was deep in conversation with some officers.  
"Not much to plan for, is there?" Nick was asking, looking into the paper that held the rough sketch of their plan. "I mean, all we're doing is waiting."  
"Mm, yeah," Judy said absentmindedly. "But there's timing, and precision, and hiding. So we do need to coordinate."  
"What if we don't see him? What if he's off murdering someone else I know while we're just sitting around?"  
Judy rolled her eyes. "Come off it," she said. "This is going to work, I know it."  
She picked up the paper. "Let's go through this again. So, we arrive, disguised, at 7:00 sharp."  
"Then," said Nick, "we wait around until we see the guy. One of us gets out of the car and follows really subtly."  
"Uh-huh. After that, the one in the car calls for some backup and follows. Then we abduct him."  
"No, we can try to get some information by hiding and listening. Then we can even try to get both the assassin and Omega at the same time."  
"See," Judy smiled at Nick. "Totally foolproof. It is going to work. I'm sure of it."  
He grinned at her. "Whatever the bunny says."  
But she looked on in worry at their plan and wondered if she'd lied to Nick, and worse, if she'd lied to herself. 

Judy pulled her lunch tray towards her, glum. They had finished planning, and had nothing to do. They were joined by Fangmeyer and Wolfard at the lunch table.  
"All done planning?" Fangmeyer asked, settling next to Nick. Judy nodded, looking down into her lunch tray. "Yeah," she said. "It's all great. Hope it works though."  
"Are you disguised again?" It was Wolfard, who had sat next to Judy. He looked animated, as only he could about things like this.  
"Yep," said Nick, scooting so that Fangmeyer had more space. As he did, he moved closer to Judy, and his tail brushed her leg, and his arm touched her waist. Her whole body stiffened, and she felt her ears go ramrod straight. She attempted to relax, to slow her racing heartbeat. The hair at the back of her neck prickled, and she felt a faint wave of sensation travel down her back, and oh, to be so conscious about someone close to you, the heat of their body, the way they _smelled_ -  
"Hey, Judy, you good?" asked Wolfard cheerfully, nudging her.  
She started guiltily, turning. "Oh-yeah." She shook her head as if to clear it of flies.  
"So, anyway," he continued. "Bogo told her that if she didn't lay off and stop prying, he'd decline their next invitation!"  
Judy turned fully, not sure she'd heard correctly. "Who?"  
He waved a paw. "That vixen reporter. He caught a couple of her lackeys looking at our files. The confidential ones." He nodded impressively at their astonished expressions.  
"Yeah. He said it may be their job to tell the public, but it's us who regulate the flow of information to their side. They had a huge argument outside. It wasn't pretty."  
July was agog at this piece of gossip.  
"Really?" She tried not to sound too interested. "What did they say?"  
He chewed on his sandwich thoughtfully. "Well," he said, "first, he accused her of prying into his files, and that since she wasn't a part of the ZPD, she had no right to access them. She said she didn't know they were confidential, but if he was so bent on hiding them, that means something fishy might be going on. She accused him of- well-" He broke off, looking uncomfortable. Nick raised a brow. "What?"  
When Wolfard didn't reply, he sighed. "I'm not going to kill you, just say it."  
"She accused him of covering up for you, and that if you were innocent, he wouldn't have to fight with her over that. She basically told him she thought you were guilty, and that we're all helping you escape conviction." He lapsed into silence, looking down at his tray.  
"What did Bogo say?" asked Judy, aghast.  
Fangmeyer replied. "He laughed and told her that if she ran her mouth again without having solid evidence, and if she didn't stop snooping around in things that didn't concern her, he'd never entertain visits from the ZNN again."  
Nick's eyes were slightly wide. "Wow. Go, Chief." He grinned.  
Judy shook her head. "I can't believe her. She actually- wow," she said, echoing Nick.  
"Yeah," Fangmeyer said, shrugging. "She just smiled and said that with or without his help she'd get to the bottom of it. Then she left, and I saw her laughing with her friends outside. Looks like we should be vigilant. Anything could happen."  
Nick was still smiling a little. "Come on," he said. "What's the worst that could happen?"  
Wolfard looked at him shrewdly. "You'd be surprised."

Her mother opened the door.  
"How was work?" she asked, gently taking Judy's bag from her and steering her into the flat.  
"All right," she replied absentmindedly, sitting down. Nick sat next to her, checking his watch. It had been a late day, and along with the traffic, it was almost 10:00.  
"Your father's asleep," she said fondly, looking back at Judy's room. "He said he'd stay up, but the moment he hit the pillow he was asleep. Oh, well," she smiled. "You two had better get to bed."  
As Judy and her mother headed for the bedroom, she asked, "So, what happened at work?"  
Judy shrugged noncommittally. "The ZNN came over, and interviewed us, is all." She yawned pointedly.  
"Oh? What did they ask?"  
"Oh- well- you know," she said, shrugging off her coat. "The usual. Boring stuff. What we're doing, how we're coping. That sort of thing."  
She knew she was lying, or at least, omitting, something she always chided Nick about. He was good at leaving out things he didn't want her to hear, and now apparently she'd caught on the habit. Her mother seemed fooled, and for a moment she wanted to open her mouth and tell her mother everything, from how jealous she was of Trystine to how badly the case was going to how much she was burning inside to tell Nick how she felt... She caught herself quickly, forcing it down. She'd deal with what she had to deal with when the time came to deal with it. She held back from bursting and smiled.  
"Anyway, good night, mom."  
Her mother patted her cheek affectionately. "Good night, sweetie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of mum on the palm-sweating-action-adventure-crime part, I guess, but I feel like tension can be created inside a room as well as out of it. I hope I addressed it okay.  
> My whole press-is-powerful idea came up because I was at an MUN a couple weeks ago and the role of the press kind of came into sharp relief for me. I decided to act on it due to a kind of personal experience. Hope it feels genuine!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes, stakeouts and reports. The sun rises, and a whole lot of problems rise with it. This is one of Judy and Nick's last chances to catch the culprit and finally make peace. But fate has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so so so so so so sorry that it took so long! There are a plethora of reasons, each more feeble than the last; but I have had horrible writer's block, and I've been working on another fic that's been taking up a lot of my creative energy. This chapter is long, and full of action, and I loved writing it, so I hope it was worth the wait for all of you.  
> Once again my humblest apologies.

The day dawned cold and bright, and Judy and Nick left for work after a chorus of goodbyes. They were walking to the car, laughing about some dumb joke Nick and made, and they were holding coffee cups and everything seemed frightfully normal.  
Steam from their cups spiralled into the air, warming their paws. Nick blew on his coffee, cooling it. They reached Precinct One, and the day was a cheerful blur of planning. It seemed like maybe this stakeout would work. They were just debating which car to take when they got an unexpected visitor.  
Chief Bogo stalked into their tiny office, seeming out of place with his bulkiness among the smaller desk and chairs. He was holding a newspaper with all the gravity of a nuclear bomb.  
"Detectives, you won't like this," he said, and threw the paper into their desk. Judy grabbed it first and opened it. Her ears fell when she saw what was printed there.  
"Looks like we've made the front page," she said in a small voice.  
"What?" Nick demanded. "Show me."  
She laid the paper out on the desk so that he could see it. He leaned over next to her and started reading.

_The ZPD has recently unearthed a chain of events that may change the course of how things are running there,_ writes Trystine Vulpinson, special correspondent. _A series of murders have been discovered, the first body having been found a few weeks ago. The second was attempted by ZPD Detectives Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps to be stopped, without success. The culprit has been identified as the same for both crimes, and evidence by a tape records that the assailant has been identified as a red fox, of medium height. Five days prior to today, Detectives Wilde and Hopps were assigned to an undercover mission to the Spots and Stripes bar, where they were to stop the murderer on a tip received by them. While they were unsuccessful in catching and stopping the murderer, a shocking detail was unearthed by the ZNN; the assailant is identical in physical appearance to Detective Nicholas Wilde, the fox in charge of the case. While this may be a coincidence, the latest victim was confirmed to be known by Detective Wilde, as he was her tenant, and had been ejected only a few weeks ago due to a rental mishap. This is a thread to follow, and while it might not lead us anywhere, it is a chance, and every chance must be thoroughly exploited. The ZNN is collaborating and cooperating with the ZPD to do what we do best: to keep the public safe and sound. And while Detectives Wilde and Hopps may not have had luck on their side this time, we, of course, as allies, hope that in the future everything goes as planned. For their sake, ours, and also Zootopia's. The murderer has not targeted any specific species, nor has any other distinguishable common trait been identified, unlike the Night Howlers case, the case for which Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps first rose to fame. ZNN personnel were also present at the Spots and Stripes bar, and unearthed the previous murder shortly after the ZNN got to the scene, on a distress call sent out by Detective Wilde. Evidence suggests that the murder took place close to midnight, although the tip received by the ZPD confirmed the murder to be around half an hour later._

_Another interesting tidbit we discovered was the presence of a file in the ZPD's offices, a file about an individual called Omega. Through a thorough investigation and internal research by the ZNN, it has been discovered that it is this Omega who is behind the attacks. (Contd. on pg. 6)_

Nick looked up, and Judy did a moment later, looking stricken.  
"How could she- she has no right!" Judy exclaimed, looking at Bogo, who put his hooves up in surrender.  
"I know she didn't, Hopps, but she did. I don't know how, but she managed to leak the content of our files on the ZNN's website. Thankfully, there was nothing important in them, and they weren't strictly confidential."  
Nick felt his brows go up. "She did what?"  
"You heard me, Wilde. She's a very dangerous enemy to have. And, unfortunately, she seems to have antagonized us."  
He packed the bridge of his snout, sighing. "This is an absolute disaster. Anyhow," he said, snatching the paper away. "Don't let this ruin the stakeout," he said, pointing at them accusingly.  
"Everything should go smoothly. Don't give them another reason to undermine you."  
With that, he left the office, banging the door closed as he went.  
Judy huffed out a breath, putting her laws over her eyes. "This is just what we need," she muttered, massaging her temples. "Publicity."  
While Nick was vexed by the whole business, he knew that this was just another obstacle to jump over, something small and just in the way. All they had to do was push it over, and they'd be free.  
"Whatever," he told his partner. "So she's trying to ruin it. Let her try."  
Judy laughed humorlessly. "If we let her try, she's going to go out of her way to wreck this whole thing. We have to get her to stop somehow."  
"You guys talking about that vixen?" It was Wolfard, sliding into the room and shutting the door behind him.  
Judy nodded, head still in her paws. "Who else would be trying to ruin our lives?"  
Wolfard snickered. "Good question."  
Nick doodled idly on on a bit of paper on the desk. "This sucks," he pronounced.  
"My friend," Wolfard said solemnly, patting him on the back, "I absolutely agree."  
"Count me in," Judy sighed, sitting up. "Anyway... Stakeout, stakeout, I hate stakeouts."  
She swivelled her chair around. "We have to stay up all night."  
Nick yawned, shrugging. "Not like we haven't done it before."  
She made a face. "That doesn't make me not like it any less. At least we're not going to be totally disguised this time. Just keeping to the shadows until the action starts."  
Wolfard grinned at them from his perch on the desk. "This is _so unfair_ ," he said, pointing an accusing finger at them. "You guys are the only ones who get to do this many stakeouts and undercovers and all the cool stuff. We have to just lie around backing you up."  
Judy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It looks fun, but..."  
"But it isn't fun when you, you know, fail," Nick sighed. "The undercover was so well planned, and we had the time and place and everything, and he got away."  
Wolfard frowned. "Don't blame yourselves. The murderer obviously knew you guys knew the timing and changed it. It isn't your fault."  
"But that's just it," Judy said, sitting up. " _How did he know we knew_? The only ones who knew the timings were all of us here at the ZPD, and Finnick, who I sincerely doubt had anything to do with the whole thing in the first place. So it had to be..."  
Her implication settled, and Wolfard's voice was oddly flat when he spoke. "One of us."  
Judy looked frightened to even have initiated the entertainment of the possibility.  
"Look," she said, "I didn't mean it like that, but there is a possibility that there's a-" She broke off, biting her lip.  
"A what?" Nick asked, raising a brow. He could see where this was headed.  
"A mole," sighed Judy. "I think there's a mole at the ZPD."  
Wolfard's eyes gleamed with nerdish delight. "A spy," he breathed. "That is totally possible. Like when he gives inside information to the dark side and the whole establishment comes crashing down, and-"  
"Whoa, hold up. Nothing's going to come crashing down," Judy said, a little smile on her face. It was an expression that reminded him eerily of Trystine. She raised her brows, her eyes darkening with the promise of a challenge.  
"Not on my watch."

Nick folded up their plan sheet and rolled his shoulders, easing the stiffness. He yawned, looking at the time. It was late- they were staying at work increasingly longer these days, what with all the planning and the press breathing down their necks. Judy had fallen silent a couple of hours ago and hadn't said anything since, presumably because she was tired. Nick couldn't blame her; his own vision was darkening, his senses lulling.  
They reached the flat well after bedtime, so naturally the halls were dark and empty. Judy bade him a hasty goodnight and left, and Nick, who thought that due to his exhaustion he would fall asleep immediately, lay down and closed his eyes.  
An hour later he knew that his body was too tense to allow him to fall asleep. He was lying on his back, watching as the shadows danced and shifted across the ceiling whenever a car passed by. Apart from the occasional honk of a car, all was silent.  
It was close to dawn when he fell asleep, but it was fitful and restless. He felt like he had just nodded off when his alarm shook him awake.  
"Nick, get up," hissed Judy. "It's stakeout day."  
Nick groaned and turned around, and she promptly dumped a glass of ice water on his head.  
He yelped and shot up, wide awake. Cold water dripped off his fur and onto the couch.  
"Carrots, what the-"  
"Language, Wilde. Get dressed, or I swear I'll shove this glass up your-"  
"Language, Hopps. And I'm going, Carrots, jeez."  
She stuck her tongue out at him as he smirked at her, heading to the bathroom.  
When he emerged, he saw Judy sitting at the table with her parents, with whom she appeared to be arguing.  
"Just a couple more days," Judy was saying. "Please, guys."  
"We really want to stay, Jude," her father said, patting her on the head. She scowled and ducked away. "But we have to get back, we have a farm to farm." He chucked at his own odd joke. Bonnie rolled her eyes.  
"He's right, honey, we need to get back to Bunnyburrow. I've loved staying with you, sweetie, but I think we should get packing today."  
Nick busied himself making coffee, trying not to seem as if he was listening. Finally he heard Judy sigh in defeat. "All right, fine. But promise me you'll leave once we get back."  
"But isn't today your important day?" her father asked, frowning, and Judy groaned, putting her head on the table. "I totally forgot," she said. "The stakeout."  
"How about," said Nick, sliding into the seat beside her, "we come back for a lunch break and have lunch together, then we can say our goodbyes."  
"Now there's an idea," Stu said jovially. "How about it, Jude?"  
Nick tried not to seem like he thought it was a great compliment coming from Stu Hopps that he took his suggestion into consideration, and sipped his coffee to appear indifferent.  
"Sounds good," Judy said, grinning at Nick. "And then we can go back to work, and you guys can go back to Bunnyburrow."  
Bonnie smiled, standing and putting her hands on her hips. "All settled then," she said. "I'll whip up something good for a proper sendoff," she said, and disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to look for supplies.  
"Aaaand that's our cue to leave," Judy said, standing. "See you later, dad."  
"See you, Jude the dude," he said, smiling, and Nick his his grin until they got to the car, and the moment they sat down, he burst out laughing.  
"What?" Judy said defensively, a paw on the steering wheel.  
"Nothing," he said, "Jude the dude," he added, laughing again. Judy's ears were tinged pink as she smacked his arm.  
"Oh, shut up," she said, starting the car. "Do you have to?"  
He grinned, sliding on his sunglasses. "Of course I have to," he said. "Who else is going to remember all the embarrassing things that have ever happened to you?"  
She muttered something unsavory under her breath about foxes, and he allowed himself another grin before the car shot down the street with a screech of released brakes.

"Shut it!" Bogo barked, and silence fell. Judy was fidgeting, wanting to get the day over with so that the stakeout would come along soon. Even though she was nervous about it she anticipated it, something that always happened with her. It had been the same with the undercover as well.  
She squirmed for the whole of roll call, as Bogo assigned them paperwork so that they could add finishing touches to their plan and review it and so that he could read it, and as he dismissed them and said that he didn't want to see any of their sorry tails until after lunch. Which was fine with Judy.  
"Why are we still dragging this behind us?" Nick asked. He had taken Bogo's absence as a blessing and was lying flat on his back along a table, the piece of paper with the plan on it held above him. "We know what we're going to do: we're just going to skulk around until one of those guys show up, then we're going to shout, "hands up," like they always do in the movies, and clap them in irons and arrest them."  
Judy scowled at the sheet of paper stretched across her knees. "It isn't that simple," she said.  
"And nobody says "clap them in irons" anymore. It's so last century."  
She heard him scoff, a noise that sounded oddly like _"Laverne"_. She rolled her eyes.  
"But that's basically all," Nick said. "Not like the undercover."  
Her mind flashed back, and she remembered blood pooling on stone, a razor smile and the taste of champagne as she danced with Nick.  
"No," she heard herself say. "Not like the undercover."

"That looks fabulous, Mrs. Hopps," said Nick.  
Her mother had outdone herself; there was all sorts of everything imaginable on her tiny little dining table, including blueberry pies, which she knew Nick had been eyeing since they came inside. She caught his glance now and smirked, mouthing, _Good one_. He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.  
Her mother blushed, causing Judy's eyebrows to elevate further still. "It's nothing," she said. "Really, I make about a hundred meals like this every day."  
Stu inhaled deeply, sitting down. "And it still tastes just as good every time," he said, patting his wife's arm. She smiled down at him.  
Judy settled down next to Nick and across from her mother, feeling slightly bemused looking at the meal in front of her.  
An hour later, despite the volume of the meal, every tureen was scraped clean. Judy grinned at Nick, who probably hadn't had a decent home-cooked meal for years. He didn't quite look at her, but she caught his returning smile.  
"And promise me you both will be good," Bonnie said, as Stu loaded their suitcases into the pickup truck. "Make sure your stakeout goes well!"  
"We will, we will," she said, tired of saying it over and over again.  
"You two drive safely," said Judy. "Looks like there's a storm blowing in."  
It was true; dark clouds were billowing in from the south, filling the blue sky with gray like ink spilling through water.  
"Of course," her mother smiled. "And be good to each other, you have a tough time ahead."  
Nick was standing with his hands in his pockets, the breeze ruffling his fur.  
"We always are," he said, almost absently. He seemed distracted, and not quite into the farewell. His mind was probably on the stakeout, the risks, how much was at stake.  
"All right," called Stu, "see you sometime soon, hopefully!"  
With final kisses and hugs, her mother closed the door of the car. Stu hugged Judy, and paused before Nick, who looked nervous.  
After an awkward second or two, they shook hands, Nick looking half bemused and half relieved. Stu looked gruff but pleased as he rolled down his window and waved until the car rounded the bend and disappeared into the city beyond.  
Judy breathed in deeply, filling her lungs, then expelling the air. She bumped Nick with her shoulder. "You don't have to be so nervous around my dad," she said, turning back and walking back into the building. She could practically see the annoyed expression on his face as he answered.  
"I was not nervous," he said. "I was thinking about the stakeout."  
"Sure you were," she said easily, "but you were nervous."  
"No, I wasn't."  
"You were."  
"Wasn't."  
"Were."  
"Wasn't." She was beginning to feel annoyed, so she didn't reply as they climbed the stairs. She heard Nick chuckle behind her, and ignored it valiantly.  
"So, today's the day," she said, pushing the door of her apartment open. She felt, rater than saw, Nick's nod in acknowledgement.  
"Can't help but feel like we're going to get set up again. Like the undercover. It'll give Trystine a better chance to shove us out of the way."  
His voice was low, almost as if he had said it to himself. Judy closed her eyes, leaning against the counter.  
"Me too," she whispered. "But we have to try." She opened her eyes. "Trystine can say whatever she wants- the public will react like everyone expects them to, and then what? We let it get to our heads and just- what, stop? Give up? No."  
She turned to Nick, who was sitting on the table. She was slightly taller because of it.  
"Turn back? Impossible. Go to the side? Nowhere to go. Where do we go?" She advanced, furious suddenly, at Trystine for her intervention, at Bogo for his consternation, and at Nick for his desperation, but mostly at herself, for her devastation. Everything she did, she did for others; her family, her friends, her colleagues. And it always blew up in her face, no matter how hard she tried to hold it together. And she was tired of it.  
"We go forward."  
She turned away, tears pricking suddenly at her eyes, and stormed away towards her room. "Get ready to leave in half an hour," she said. "We need to leave."  
He didn't call after her.

The car hissed softly as it slid to a stop under the outcropping of shingle lining the roof of a sallow-looking building veiled with shadows. Judy, who didn't have night vision like Nick's, could discern next to nothing of her surroundings, only faint hazy shapes and suggestions and softness. Nick was at the wheel, leaning over the dashboard, eyes like chips of emerald as he narrowed them to gaze into the night. They didn't speak, hardly even daring to breathe in the irrational but cautious fear that they might be heard somehow. She curled up on the seat, eyes super-sensitized, alert. One paw rested casually on the handle of her gun, the other curled at the handle of the door in case of need for a quick escape. She and Nick both had bulletproof vests, Nick was also armed, they had backup at the click of a button, and they had, most importantly, a plan.  
Everything was ready.  
For the first hour or two, there was absolute silence. Nothing and no one moved, only the breeze, teasing and dancing around the car and whispering. Judy tensed more than once upon hearing them, but always sank back into the seat, now molded to her back. She was comfortable, and warm, but she could never had fallen asleep, not when her blood was thrumming and her heart was slamming in her chest.  
It must have been around midnight when it grew steadily darker, until even Nick was squinting to make out the street in front of them. She remembered what he had told her all those days ago, about the absolute darkness of the hour preceding midnight and the hours after it. It was as if black ink had been poured around the car, wrapping it in velvety darkness. She sat up, shifting her position, her stiff and cramped muscles conveying their protest as she did. She was now sitting with her legs tucked under her, and her paws still on the gun and on the handle. Nick was also curled up, his tail tickling her foot. His head was pillowed on his paws, and he might have been asleep if it weren't for his eyes, shimmering green discs in a sea of black.  
It was when both of them were sitting like that, eyes open and bodies folded and hearts beating, when everything began to fall apart.

"Look," he breathed. It was so quiet even her rabbit's ears had a job catching the low cadence. Her heart skipped an already jumpy beat and she leaned forward. She saw a faint flicker of movement, too faint for her to make out anything. She nodded at Nick, who nodded back. There was an odd tightness in his face, something unidentifiable and alien on his features. He turned away and peered into the dark, eyes flicking back to her.  
"He went inside."  
It came and went, sugar dissolving in water. She took a deep breath and put a paw on his shoulder. She nodded. She would have smiled, but she was too afraid.  
She marveled at the magnitude of how soundless he was. Even when he closed the car door, it made no sound. All she saw was a flash of his bottlebrush tail, then he was gone.  
She saw him follow the figure that so resembled him into the small clapboard house, and he turned back as he went in, the tight expression still on his face. Then he disappeared.  
She caught her breath, leaning forward. Now that Nick was gone, she could see nothing, only the front of the small house, awning and ominous.  
There was a silence so complete that it was ringing in her ears, buzzing and irritating her. It was only after a few moments that she realized what the expression on his face had been. That terrible tightness, the darkening of his eyes, the flutter of his pulse in his throat.  
It was fear.

There was a darkness so absolute inside the little house that even Nick, who had unusually good night vision, could barely make his way across the floor without tripping over loose cables. He was scared, more than he let on. He had a terrible sinking feeling in his gut that something was going to go terribly wrong. Judy had been quiet since they had gone back to work, not speaking, but just whispering the plan to herself over and over, as if it were an anchor that weighed down the fear. Bogo had been tense too, his shoulders stiff as he'd wished them good luck and left, too filled with anticipation even to make a rude remark about it. He'd even called Sheila and told her about it, and she'd exclaimed that she would be around in that part of town that night, and that if he needed someone to talk to, she'd be only a few blocks away. He thought of her then, her total faith in their success, and the way one side of her mouth tilted before the other when she smiled. Then he thought of Judy again. He couldn't believe that just a few hours ago he had been shaking hands with her father and laughing and joking. It seemed like years ago.  
His breath was coming in erratic jerks as he heard the creaks of the other fox climbing the stairs that led to the first floor. He waited, listening for the close of a door, but he heard instead the creaks of another flight of steps.  
_Up to the Magpie's nest,_ he thought wryly as he heard the soft click of a door closing above him.  
He began to climb.

It was almost impossible not to make noise while climbing the steps. Every other stair creaked. He knew that if the old con Nick Wilde had been asked to do this, he'd have made a racket. But the Nick who went to the Zootopia Police Academy and had had eleven months of training knew to tread carefully. He was totally soundless as he drew up to the first floor. There didn't seem to be anything there, just a lot of debris and a lot of graffiti. Cables hung from the ceiling, there was wood and cement strewn everywhere, and the sharp smell of metal was all over the air. He paused, but there didn't seem to be anything about the space that suggested any activity. Judging by the carefully cultivated look of disuse and disarray, Omega and his lackey had designed it this way, so that nobody would bother going further, knowing there would be the same thing in the floor above. He smiled a little; this time it was con Nick who had spoken up, driving his instincts. It was often like that, two contrasting personalities, same fox. He headed up, hearing voices. There was a small door above him, almost like a trapdoor, tiny and unassuming. Just like the rest of this place.  
He drew up to the door, heart slamming as he put his ear against it to listen. He heard the light, cool voice of the fox, and a deeper, more gravelly voice talking to him. The fox sounded different, the notable absence of his imitating Nick clear to the ear. This fox's voice was a little higher, a little softer, and a lot more dangerous.  
"...and it went like clockwork. The vixen even printed it into the news. Now we just have to wait for the rioting to begin," said the fox.  
Omega's voice was deep and dark, and a little familiar. He could have sworn he'd heard this voice before, but he couldn't place it.  
"Good, good. I did see the papers. She did a good job, didn't she? Just enough blame for the people to get the hint."  
_Trystine, working for Omega?_ he thought, reeling back from the shock of it. _No way._  
"Did you do it?"  
The fox laughed a little. It was not a sound of amusement, but of malice. "No, not yet. It's all planned, she's here. It will take but a moment for me to lure her and finish the job."  
Anger was beginning to unfurl in his chest like a poisonous flower blooming. Here was a fox who spoke of murdering somebody else, taking their life, as something trivial. Everyday. Ordinary. Just part of the job. This was what Zootopia saw when they saw foxes. This casual cruelty, the willingness to do anything for money. It made him sick.  
"So do it quickly. This time I assume you have a plan for our elusive Nick Wilde?"  
His heart skipped a beat upon hearing his name, and he pressed his ear harder to the door.  
"Of course I do. He won't be so elusive once I put the plan to action. He will come to me, I am sure if it. His time as a police officer has softened him. He is drawn to the prospect of saving people like files to dead flesh. I know that by the time dawn breaks, you will have him."  
He blinked, drawing back, surprised. Was this how they thought of him? _They're wrong,_ whispered Judy's voice. _They don't know you. You do need to save people, but not because it's your job. You do it because nobody else can, and nobody else will._  
"Anyhow, I think it's time to set the wheel turning. I think by now you would have made the required changes to the plan?"  
"Changes?" The fox sounded puzzled. "The plan does not need changing."  
Omega made a _tsk,_ sound of casual chastising. "Come now, Aidan," he said, and with a small shock, Nick realized that that was the fox's name. He heard a slight intake of breath from the fox that clearly conveyed how much he disliked being called by that name. It sounded as if he was afraid, almost.  
"For a highly trained assassin, your reflexes need sharpening. Surely you realized that Nicholas Wilde is standing outside the door at this moment listening to everything we are saying?"

It had been almost fifteen minutes since Nick vanished through that doorway, and Judy was getting worried. She checked his GPS, having replaced her ruined one with a working one, and saw the little red dot stationary on the second floor. Presumably listening, she thought. She was gazing at the dot and wondering if she should go after him when the dot moved. She sat up straight, peering down at her wrist. He was moving...why? Was there perhaps another exit from where Omega and the fox left, and maybe he was going in the room to investigate? Maybe he was just shifting to get a better position to listen.  
Maybe he had been caught.  
She put a paw on her forehead, her lip caught on her teeth. _I can't just leave him,_ she thought. _I have to go after him._  
Her hand drifted to her wallet, where she had tucked the little piece of paper with the plan on it. She drew it out and read, even though she knew the words by heart.  
_Don't move until certain danger is imminent. Do not get out of the car until the all-clear is sounded. Keep position until Nick contacts you. Unless you know something for certain, do not act on it._  
She had to go by the plan. It was how they had discussed it. Nobody was supposed to diverge from the plan. They were supposed to stick to it. There was no question about it, no two ways about it. It was a rule. And Judy was nothing if not one who always strictly abided by the rules.  
Well, almost always.  
She nodded to herself, making up her mind.  
The plan was lying face-down on the dashboard when she left the car and followed Nick into the shadows. 

Nick moved back on instinct, his heart pounding so hard that he was sure everybody could hear it. He began to move away when the door opened, and he saw the fox- Aidan- standing there, a cool smile on his face.  
"We meet again, Nicholas Wilde," he said. This voice suited him better, and his eyes glowed gray-blue, like hoarfrost. They shone with primal aggression.  
Nick, who had been so afraid for the past few hours, found himself using the one defense that came up whenever he was stressed, or scared, or angry.  
"Your boss is right," he drawled, flashing a smile. "You are kind of slow on the uptake...what was it I heard him call you? _Aidan._ "  
To his satisfaction, Aidan's eyes flashed, a look of total fury passing across his face. Nick allowed his smile to grow wider. "Yeah," he said, drawing the word out in the way Judy hated. It worked here too; the fox looked even more furious than before. "Don't like being called by your real name?" He grinned.  
"How are the ribs healing?" he asked with mock-sympathy, nodding at him. Aidan finally appeared to grapple with his senses.  
"Fine, thank you," he said, sneering. "Yourself?"  
Nick smiled angelically. "Never been better."  
"Enough pleasantries," said Omega's voice from inside, floating towards them. "Invite him inside, Aidan, it is rude to allow guests to linger in doorways."  
Aidan stepped aside, sneering at Nick as he did. Nick walked inside the room, trying not to seem as if he was looking around. In truth he was absorbing everything, the small table, the peeling walls, the boarded-up windows, the counter across from his.  
And Omega where he sat at the table.  
It was impossible to tell if he was old or young, what species he was, or anything at all. The only way he could tell that he was male was because of his gait. There was an intricate mask on his face, hiding everything except his eyes, which were a glacial blue.  
"At last," he said, that familiar voice setting off alarm bells in his mind. "We meet, Nicholas Wilde. I have waited for this moment for a long, long time."

Judy caught her breath as she reached the second floor. The door was slightly open, letting out a slice of light. She heard voices, and stopped on the landing before the second floor, allowing her ears to do the work her limbs couldn't, and listened.  
"Why?" asked Nick's voice, and a thrill of fear shot through her. He was in there, with Omega and the murderer.  
"Giving it away would take out half the fun," said a low voice. She recognized it, but she couldn't put her paw on exactly where, or who...  
"I want you to know why, but now is hardly the time for it. I think you have already been acquainted with Aidan, my...employee."  
She heard Nick's snort of laughter. "Employee? That's a good one. Tell me," he said, his voice deliberately set in a tone to guarantee maximum annoyance. "How much does this guy pay you to dye your fur, wear contacts, follow me around and murder people, probably for a reason you don't know?"  
There was silence.  
"Thought as much," he said, a smirk in his voice.  
"That is enough," said Omega, and she heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back. She moved, pressing herself against the wall, blending to the shadows. She saw Nick, his face set in a bland smile. She saw, just for a second, his eyes dart to her. Then he made a slight movement with his paw, one that clearly meant, _go!_  
"Aidan," said Omega's voice. The fox's name, thought Judy, surprised. "I think it is time to pay a little visit to our next arrangement."  
"I rather agree," sneered the voice of the fox, Aidan. Without warning the door began to creak open fully. She shot down the steps, reaching the first floor. She darted behind a chunk of cement and waited, her heart racing.  
"Wait," said Nick, and even he couldn't disguise the note of panic in his voice. "Aren't you going to tell me why you're doing this?"  
"I don't think so," said Omega idly. "I think our little game ends here. Aidan, get his partner. She'll be skulking around somewhere downstairs. I'll take care of this."  
"With pleasure," purred Aidan, and she tensed, sweat beading on her palms. She reached for her walkie-talkie with fumbling fingers.  
The stairs creaked, and the winds shifted. She could hear him coming towards her, hear his breaths as he walked down the stairs, each step he took bringing him closer.  
_Please go past, go past, there's nothing here, just go past me, please!_  
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again, unable to bear the darkness. She held her breath as she heard the stairs creak again- and loosed the breath as she heard him go past. Her body relaxed, sagging.  
Suddenly she heard another creak as a floorboard right in front of the cement block she was hiding behind warped.  
"I know you're there, Judy," said a soft voice directly behind her. Distantly through her fear she heard the door upstairs close.  
She was alone on the floor with Aidan.

Nick turned to Omega, fear coursing through him. Not for himself, but for Judy. Judy, who was now sealed in the building with a fox whose predatory instinct ran far deeper than normal. He was breathing heavily.  
"All right," he said, wondering how on earth this went so wrong, "just tell me."  
"You see," Omega said, spinning a blade in his paws. His fur was totally covered. It was impossible to tell what color it was. "I hate foxes," he continued, advancing towards Nick.  
"Hate everything about them. You are nothing but a devil wearing a pelt of fur, red as the blood you spill, the blood you thrive on. Creatures like you shouldn't be allowed in Zootopia. Not only Zootopia, your cursed line should not exist at all. Purging the world of your kind would be a mercy."  
Nick stepped back, unnerved. Those were the words of a madman. One who was so riven by need that he could not see beyond his own opinion.  
"But you," he said, "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw your face in the papers, proclaiming you as the first fox officer in history, what an amazing achievement, what a joy for the city to be getting past its stereotypes."  
He sneered, showing off canines. _Predator._ "But I saw right through it, to what you actually are. You are a demon." He stepped towards Nick, blade raised. "And I will have my revenge."  
"Revenge?" asked Nick, stepping back again. "What did I ever do to you? I don't even know your name."  
"You do," breathed Omega, eyes eerily blue in the dimness. "You know my name."  
"No," Nick said, at a loss. "I don't. And I don't know what I did."  
"Oh, it's not _you,_ he said dismissively. "But filth like you should not be protecting the city. The city should be protected from you. I am simply making them realize that."  
Nick's heart raced, and he put his paws up. "Look," he said. "You work with that fox- Aidan-"  
"Aidan is only a means to an end," said Omega darkly. "And he always will be."  
There was a window behind him. If he jumped it, would he make it? He might break something, but he had to get out of there.  
"So what?" asked Nick, stepping towards the window. "Are you going to kill me?"  
Omega was almost on top of him, the blade sparking. "Oh, no," he said. "I won't have to, not after my plan comes to an end. When it's done, the citizens and denizens of this city will kill you for me. And I will know that I did something good; I will have rid your evil from this place, and that is all that matters."  
The window was open, a breeze wafting out. It was big enough for him to jump through. He put his paw on his gun.  
"You're crazy," he said, pulling out the gun and pointing it at him. "It's not me who's marring this city, it's idiots like you who can't see through their bigotry."  
"Bigotry?" asked Omega, sounding amused. "I would hardly call it bigotry."  
"It's madness," said Nick. "Madness disguised as a cause so extreme nobody will believe you."  
"They already believe me," Omega said, his voice softer than soft. "I needn't do anything but wait, and watch as you choke on your sins."  
Nick took a deep breath. "The only one here who's going to be choking," he said, "is you."  
He pulled the trigger, and Omega _moved._ Faster than he would have thought possible. He whipped the blade in front of him and the bullet lodged into the handle, the impact so great that he dropped it. He cursed and leaped for him, but it was too late.  
Nick had already jumped.

"Come now," Aidan breathed. "Step into the light."  
She was quaking, her breath rapid and short. She peered into the darkness, seeing another block of wood nearby, a few steps away. Very slowly, she got to her knees and began to crawl towards it, hearing Aidan's breath behind her all the time.  
She got to the wood block and slid behind it, her fingers still fumbling for the buttons on her walkie-talkie. She glanced upwards desperately, and saw a boarded-up window, its sill broken but wide. It was so dark she could barely see, but slowly an idea began forming in her mind. It was so outlandish and crazy that she almost laughed at herself. But she knew it was her only shot at getting out of there.  
She knew that using the walkie-talkie was taking a risk; no matter how quiet it was, it still made noise, and its buttons would glow if she made a call. But she had to use that to her advantage. She looked at the windowsill and held her breath, slowly moving towards it. It was so dark; she could scarcely see, and she knew that here she had a distinct disadvantage: Aidan was a fox, and his vision in the dark far outstripped her own. But she had tricks up her sleeve as well.  
Her ear twitched as she heard the faintest of faint creaks to her left. She half-turned, making sure she was covered by a crate.  
"Come out, come out, little Judy," Aidan sang, his voice getting nearer. "You know you can't hide from me."  
She knew she couldn't. But he didn't know what she could do.  
"Both of you are fools to think you can challenge Omega," he continued, his voice like silk. "You don't know how much power he has, how much influence he has. While it may be Wilde he wants, I have very different plans for you."  
She bit her lip, her heart speeding its beating. She wished he would shut up.  
"Last time we met, it was under circumstances very different. This time will be different, I promise you."  
Her breathing turned ragged. _Keep him talking._  
He drew ever closer, his breath loud in her sensitive ears. He was only a few steps away; if he stepped aside the crate, he would see her, sure as death.  
It was now or never. She could see his shadow moving towards her, and quickly switched on the walkie-talkie, whose buttons glowed green. She tossed it onto the windowsill, where it commenced to beep loudly. She launched herself sideways, rolling behind an overturned cabinet near the stairs, just as Aidan reached the window. She saw his arms reach out to grab the walkie-talkie, and she seized the moment of distraction to scramble to her feet soundlessly and run for the stairs. She didn't look back as she leaped down four at a time, and as she heard Aidan's roar of outrage when he saw how she had tricked him, as she reached the front door of the little clapboard house and slammed it shut, bolting it and shoving a chair under the handle, lodging it in place.  
She ran to the other side of the building and leaned against the wall, panting and out of breath. Her palms were slick with sweat, and her heart was beating so wildly that her pulse was all she could hear. Her whole body was shaking, shivers running up and down her spine. She had made it. She had escaped. She was safe.  
She put her face in her hands and breathed.

Nick fell through the air, twisting as he did. Panic rushed through him, and he didn't even have time to take a breath when his body fell onto something hard and metallic. Distantly he thought, _The ground can't be that close to the second floor._  
He looked down, and he laughed aloud. By some miracle, he had managed to choose the window that looked down over the car. He had fallen onto its roof. He looked up, knowing Omega wouldn't be far behind; he rolled off the car, landing safely on the ground. He was a little winded, but he was safe.  
He glanced at his GPS, and to his relief, Judy wasn't in the building. She was moving around it, nearing him. He looked up just as she turned the corner and came careening towards him.  
He caught her up in his arms, swinging her around and burying his snout in her neck. She was shaking, and he felt her tears as her paws fisted in his jacket. He closed his eyes and just breathed her in, feeling his knotted muscles relax as her familiar scent washed over him.  
"I was so scared," she whispered. "I- I thought you-"  
"It'll take more than that to get rid of me," he said, drawing away. She wiped her eyes, smiling through her tears.  
"I left my walkie-talkie upstairs," she said. "I used it to trick Aidan, and I locked him and Omega in the building. We have to get out of here, now."  
Nick flung open the car doors, climbing inside. She did the same, and Nick fumbled for his own walkie-talkie, thumbing the buttons to call for help.  
The car roared to life, and Judy drove like hell was following them, bypassing the speed limit by a couple of hundred miles per hour.  
There was almost nobody on the road, and they reached Precinct One within ten minutes, not even switching the car off before running inside.  
They nearly ran right into Chief Bogo, who was coming out of his office. Before they could open their mouths he spoke.  
"Backup was sent. They're heading there now. You did well, detectives."  
Judy was still panting. "We have to go with them."  
Which was why, fifteen minutes later, they were back at the building, standing outside as the police scoured the whole place. About half an hour later, Fangmeyer came out, shaking his head. Nick's stomach plummeted.  
"No sign of them," he said. "It's like they vanished into thin air. We only found this," he said, tossing Judy her walkie-talkie. She gazed down at it, looking lost. It was beeping, signalling a message. She turned it on.  
_"You may think you got away twice, but you've lost. You will see what you have started, you will see how I show my hand, and you will know that it is your fault. If you want to find me, just look back, because I will always be behind you."_

They were driving back, one car behind the other, when suddenly there was a screech of brakes and all the cars stopped. Nick saw the officers streaming outside, and got out too, Judy following.  
"Now what?" she asked, frowning. Nick shrugged, moving towards Bogo.  
"What's up, chief?" he asked, and Bogo looked down at him, and the expression in his face made panic set in again.  
"Wilde, you'd better look at this."  
His heart in his mouth all over again, he walked into the alley, Judy close behind. At first, all he saw was a dark shape, and what looked like fabric pooling around it. Then his vision sharpened, and he stumbled.  
_You will see what you have started, you will see how I show my hand, and you will know that it is your fault._  
Blood was everywhere, smearing up and down the walls, covering the ground, surrounding the body like a halo. As Nick got closer, he saw the face of the person, rendered clearly, almost untouched, as if Aidan wanted him to see her face.  
And see it he did.  
He fell to his knees, his paw reaching out and grasping hers, but it was lifeless and limp, her black fur matted with blood. Her eyes, always so cheerful, were glassy and unseeing. He felt tears sliding down his face but didn't care. Everything had blurred together, he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet, he was falling. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and full of disbelief, a grief that reached its feelers into his past and tore its roots, turning everything that was sense into nonsense.  
"Sheila?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Losses, patrols and coffee. This is the first time that a grief such as this has been staring into the faces of our two detectives. Logic points them left while gut instinct points to the right. What they are expected to do, and what they want to do are entirely different, and are hardly similar options.  
> But sometimes, just sometimes, you have to choose to act on your heart rather than your mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a whole month, I'm so sorry! My other fic is sapping my creative juices in a way I hadn't anticipated. I'm so sorry for the delay.  
> This is more of a breather, a sort of break after last chapter's rush. Next chapter might take even longer, so my sure apologies in advance. *hides*

The room was illuminated with harsh white light, a sterile fluorescent glow washing everything and fading it to a faint pallor. To match all the white, it was freezing cold, and Judy's teeth were chattering faintly, and she was shivering, but she didn't care about that.  
The last few hours had been a horrible blur.  
Over the deafening wail of sirens she had barely heard Nick say her name, his voice hoarse with disbelief and shock and grief, and had seen him reach out to grip her paw, lifeless and limp though it was. He had turned away as they approached, and they had given him that space, knowing that in that moment touch would not be appreciated. Judy had hung back, feeling her own eyes fill as she beheld the sight. Watching Nick fall apart, feeling her own life tilting and threatening to spill her into nothingness, seeing Sheila's lifeless body she had felt a freezing, burning hate fill her, crystallizing in her heart, blotting out any other feeling.  
She would kill him. She would kill Aidan for doing this, and kill Omega in the package as well. She didn't care about morality, or pity or compassion or sympathy. All she could see was Sheila's laugh, her smile, the way her eyes had twinkled when she saw Nick, the way she had pulled Judy to her feet when she didn't remember how to get up.  
That life, that once-bright soul, had been extinguished. And he who had extinguished it would pay.  
Bogo had gently gone over to Nick and knelt in front of him, unfazed by the blood on the alley floor. He had said something in a voice so low even she could make nothing of it. She had seen Nick nod, then Bogo had stood and walked over to where Judy and Fangmeyer were standing. He hadn't said anything, just set his jaw and stood in silence. After a few minutes Judy had turned and walked back to the car, her heart heavy and her soul corroded with despair.  
She had hardly been sitting a minute when Nick joined her, silent and still. They drove back to Precinct One wrapped in a heavy silence, and the moment they got back they had been herded into the sterile white room. Just before she walked in, Judy had caught a glimpse of white fur and glacial blue eyes, and she saw Trystine give her a small smile that, as usual, didn't reach her eyes. Judy had glared at her in response, her gaze so full of fury that the vixen's smile slipped, and she had stepped back, clearly unnerved. Judy seethed and stalked into the room, uncaring, unfeeling; she had better things to do than waste her time on that ridiculous female.  
The questioning- _inquiry_ , as Bogo had put it, was polite if not thorough; they combed every detail through multiple times, asked for exact descriptions, of voices and movements and coordinations. She knew that to ask Nick to speak now would be a crime, but he, after all, had been there to speak with Omega and Aidan, had seen them, flesh and blood. Judy occasionally interjected a detail into the description, and half an hour later, though it had seemed like an eternity to Judy, they were dismissed.  
They left the room, eyes cast downwards, and had hardly crossed half the lobby when the press caught up with them.  
"Detectives- a word, if you please!" sang a feminine voice. They turned to see Trystine, her permanent smile having been hitched back on her face.  
"I'm sorry," Judy said coldly. "We won't be taking any interviews as of now. Please refrain from asking us to give one."  
Her smile tilted. "I'm afraid you can't decline," she said with a tinkling laugh. "We have the right to-"  
"And we," said another voice, "have the right to refuse your visits should we want to." Bogo glowered at her. "And it is clear that you have absolutely no regard for what these two have gone through tonight- I trust you know what happened, and I'm sure you would understand that they would not want to give an interview. Please come back tomorrow, if you want to."  
She sneered imperceptibly. "Of course, chief." She simpered, making a show of gathering her gaggle of reporters and leaving the ZPD. Judy turned to thank Bogo, but the chief had left already, the door of his office closing behind him as she watched.  
"Come on," muttered Judy, turning back to her partner. "Let's go home."

The TV was on, casting a dull blue light over the apartment. Dawn had broken, but they had closed all of the curtains, blocking the watery daylight. News had spread like wildfire, and every broadcasting network was reporting the latest murder.  
_"Clearly a serial killer-"_  
_"No leads or witnesses-"_  
_"Detectives Wilde and Hopps-"_  
_"Omega, or Aegis, as he has been called before-"_  
_"Framed, or intentional-"_  
Judy flicked thorough the channels, her eyes burning from staring at the screen for so long. Nick was sprawled on a chair near the window, not watching with her. She would have thought he was asleep, but she knew better.  
She switched the TV off, the immediate silence swelling suddenly. She felt the sudden and overpowering urge to burst into tears, though she couldn't have said why.  
"Nick?" she asked softly. "You should get to bed."  
He blinked, looking over at her. "What?"  
Her lower lip wobbled. "You-you should get to sleep, you need rest."  
He looked back out the window, shaking his head. "No, you go on. I'm not sleepy."  
Tears were gathering in her eyes. "I'll see you later," she whispered, and she ran to her room. She heard Nick call her name, but she had already slammed the door.  
The sobs began, racking her body and blurring her vision. She pressed a fist to her mouth in a vain attempt to smother her tears, but it didn't work. She allowed her pent-up rage and worry and sadness and regret to spill out like poison, ridding her soul of the crushing weight of it.  
She sat on her bed and allowed herself to break down, really break down, to feel bad for herself, to ask the world, _why me?_ She pressed her lips together as the storm of tears subsided, and sniffled into silence.  
Her breath rattled on the way out, and she felt the grief still choking her. And she couldn't imagine how it must have been for Nick, who had barely had a few days' worth of time with Sheila after being apart for so long. And the whole threat of the case, and Trystine...  
It wasn't fair. None of it was. She hated that he was suffering so much, in such a short span of time. So much had happened since the Night Howlers case, and so much had shattered. As she lay on her bed and tried to sleep, she made a promise to herself. She would make sure, she would swear, that no matter how hard the world tried to break them, they would not yield. They would not lose faith, lose trust, lose hope.  
And she would make Aidan pay for what he had done. She would avenge not only Sheila, but all the lives he had taken, had claimed. And by her life she would not let him get away with it. Her blood sang with the new melody, the deadly concoction of rage, grief and revenge.  
_I will kill him._

Even at three in the morning Zootopia was busy, traffic moving sluggishly along the streets. The moon was bright, but there were no stars. The night was late, but there was no silence. His world had shattered, but there was no respite. Battle after battle he fought, each yielding more catastrophic results than the last. Each time, he was struck down, kicked, beaten. And when he surged up again, he'd be knocked down, over and over.  
He was so, so tired. Tired of losing, losing battles, losing people, losing faith. He didn't know why he didn't just give up. He was awfully close to now.  
Sheila had called him, just before the stakeout. She'd been so cheerful, as always, telling him she'd be only a few blocks away, that if he needed someone to talk to she was there, that she knew it would go well. He had told her that they had a plan, that it would go smoothly.  
He wondered what her last thought had been. With a sick feeling to his stomach he realized that Aidan would have donned his disguises to do what he did. And that Sheila wouldn't have seen Aidan kill her, but she'd have seen Nick. He closed his eyes, feeling his face twist with revulsion and sorrow.  
In his mind's eye he saw eyes glittering like hoarfrost, gray-blue and deadly. He wondered where the fox was now, if he was watching what he had done, feeling the ripples that he has caused as they shot through the whole city. And Omega, who looked at him not as an ally, or even an employee, but as only something expendable, a means to an end. It was disgusting.  
He stood suddenly, throwing open the window and allowing the wind to seep into the room. It had begun to rain softly, the drizzle so fine it looked like mist. It stung his eyes and made them burn, and the city as the rain fell looked beautiful, neon signs blurred but bright, the buildings reflecting the fine droplets, the clouds low and flashing with lightning.  
Sheila was dead. She was gone. Nothing should be beautiful. Everything should have been gray and cold. He gritted his teeth as a gust of wind blew in, carrying the rain with it. He felt the cold, razor-like, on his face, and it was only after standing at the window for a good long while that he realized he was shivering. He knew he should go to sleep; Bogo had told them to take a break for as long as they needed to, but they eventually had to meet the press to give them a blow-by-blow account of what had happened, even if Nick did not want to relive those few moments in the room with Omega, locked in that place with a total psychopath while Judy was in the floor below, with Aidan, another unhinged character.  
He had been more afraid than he had let on, more for Judy than himself; he couldn't have let her get caught, not by one who didn't only want her to be his prisoner. And they had gotten away, and they had failed, and who paid the price?  
He turned away from the window and started to pace. He paced and paced and paced, all around the flat, allowing his mind to wander, mull over the possibilities of the future. They needed to catch Omega. They had to. No more innocent lives would be lost. And what would the people think, when they realized that yet another thread led them back to him? Protests, surely. Also riots. Plenty of rebellion. And what would happen if they kicked him out of the ZPD? Judy would be totally alone. And he could not let that happen.  
He jumped suddenly as a niose cut through the fog in his head. His phone was buzzing, the tinny sound bouncing around. He glanced at the caller, then sighed and picked it up.  
"What happened?"  
"Nothing," said Wolfard. "I just called to..." He trailed off, and cleared his throat. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened."  
A terrible blankness spread behind his eyes. "Me too," he said.  
"I- I know how it feels," said the wolf. "To lose someone close to you. I just wanted to-" he hesitated. "I don't know," he said finally.  
"Yeah," muttered Nick. "Neither do I."  
"I wasn't there," said Wolfard. "I had the night off. I keep thinking, if I'd been there, I could've helped, done something. If I hadn't taken that one night off..."  
Nick laughed humorlessly. "If anything, you have a reason not to feel guilty," he said. "I was right there. I was _right there._ I could've- should've killed him, ended it. But I let him get away. I let him kill her." He sat down, the weight crushing him suddenly. "It's my fault."  
"No," said Wolfard, and there was a shard of glass in his voice, one Nick had never heard there before. "It is not your fault. Listen to me." He sounded old suddenly, his tone beyond his years.  
"You are not at fault. If you hadn't found them we would still be at square one. You are the reason we're so close to stopping them. Now that we know the name of the assassin we have a very distinct advantage. We know the building. We're scouring the place for the next few days. We will find something, I'm sure of it, and the only reason we're this far ahead is because of you. Already they've found documents. Do you realize what this means?"  
Nick sat up straight. Before he could reply Wolfard went on. "It means we've cleared your name. It means that now we know it's not you who's doing it. Now the press can't say anything about it."  
His breath caught. "What do you mean?"  
"Deals, Nick. We found the papers that confirm the fact that he hired him to frame you. Once we release these your name will be cleared."  
For some reason the words rung a bell in his head. "They were talking," he said, his words tumbling over each other in their haste to get out, "about that vixen, Trystine, and how she'd done a good job writing the article. It sounded like-"  
"I don't think so, man," Wolfard said. "I don't think she'd stoop so low. I don't think she works for anyone but herself."  
Nick wasn't convinced. "Maybe," he said. "But...I don't know, it sounded a lot like she's a part of this."  
"We're all a part of this. You most of all. And now that we can clear your name, we've cleared up most of the junk that sits between you guys and cracking this case."  
Nick snorted. "Well, it's a start."  
"Better than nothing."  
"Definitely."  
"And I really am sorry about what happened. I know you loved her and I know she meant a lot to you, but let that be what drives you to finish this. When you deliver the killing blow, do it in her name. In her memory. Avenge her."  
Nick blinked. "That's not exactly the kind of advice I expected to hear."  
Wolfard sounded amused. "What were you expecting?"  
"You know, the usual. 'Let it go, forgive and forget, don't rely on revenge'. That sort of thing."  
"Don't expect that from me," said the wolf. "I know well enough your hardship. I've lost things that matter, and the only thing that could balance that kind of suffering is giving it back to them."  
Nick wondered what exactly had happened to this wolf to make him speak like this, like he was being choked with bitterness. Usually Wolfard was the grinning, joking one who geeked out over comic books and TV shows. Not one who spoke about suffering and revenge like he'd experienced it firsthand. Which he said he had, but wasn't saying anything else. So many secrets, omissions, deceits.  
"I don't think that's the way," Nick said, hesitantly. "Maybe if we caught him, and if we could jail him-"  
"That won't work. Look, Nick, this guy, he's not kidding around. He's killed three people."  
"Aidan did."  
"Yeah, but the mind behind the matter is all Omega. To stop this, you need to end him."  
Nick sighed. "Maybe."  
"And don't give up. Make it count, okay?"  
Nick had no idea what he was talking about, but he said, "I will."  
"I'll see you soon, Nick."  
"Yeah," he said, and he heard a click as the line disconnected.

Twiddling his thumbs at home was really starting to get under his fur. There was nothing to do but brood, and grieve, and sulk, or a combination of all three. And Judy wasn't doing much to ease the tension either; she rarely spoke, and if she did, it was in a small, quiet, broken voice, and she never looked him in the eye. It had gone on long enough.  
"I think it's time to get back to work," he said the morning after Wolfard had called.  
Judy looked at him, her face entirety unreadable. "It's too soon."  
"What are we doing, holed up in here? If we get to work we can meet with the press, try to get more leads, finish this off."  
Her face twisted. "Meet with the press," she said softly. "Just imagine the headline. Our second failure in a row on the front page."  
Nick sighed. There were two Judys sometimes; one fiercely optimistic Judy who wouldn't back down even if she was facing the devil himself, and another Judy who was the exact opposite, one who gave up and sat with her shoulders hunched and bitterness rendered clearly in every line of her face. They were polar opposites, but they were the same person, at the end.  
"It doesn't matter," he said. "Wolfard called yesterday, he said that they found some documents that they'll release and use to clear my name."  
Her brows shot up. "Really? You mean to tell me Omega and Aidan just left these documents lying around?"  
He blinked. "Sounded like it."  
She looked dubious. "I don't like it."  
He was beginning to feel angry. "You don't want to clear my name?"  
She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! But those two are too cunning to just _leave really confidential important documents_ that could clear your name just lying there, its careless, and the two of them are anything but." She drew in a breath. "And I also think that they left them there on purpose. Something might happen if we try to leak those files, Nick, and I don't like it."  
He sighed. "We have to do it. You know how Trystine writes, she'll make it look like I'm the one who-" He broke off. "I can't let them keep those files away from the people."  
She looked away. "Is there anything I can say that'll change your mind?"  
He swallowed. "No."  
She slid off the couch and headed to her room, calling over her shoulder as she went.  
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get to work."

Walking into Precinct One had never felt so awkward.  
Of course, there had been her first day, when everybody had dwarfed her by at least five feet, and the fact that she was a rabbit. But now, everybody was staring at her and Nick as if they'd just dropped from the moon. The whole lobby had gone deathly still when they pushed open the doors, and as they headed to Clawhauser's desk mutters sprang after them.  
The cheetah valiantly attempted to seem as if he hadn't been amongst the starers, and kept up an admirable facade of idle banter. Judy tried to retaliate in kind, keeping her smile and hoping it didn't slip. Nick was staring into space, his fingers drumming an idle tattoo on the table. He was whistling softly under his breath, something she'd noticed he did whenever he was nervous or stressed. He didn't say anything, his expression unreadable.  
She didn't know much about him. That was one thing she was always tentative about, one thing that she knew would always be a missing puzzle piece to their friendship- relationship- whatever they shared. Did he have a family? Of course he did, but where were they now? Were they even alive? He'd never mentioned a father, so was his mother still in Zootopia? If so, who was she? Did he have siblings? Where did he grow up? Why did he become a small-time con man, and how did he meet Finnick? They were questions that were always on the tip of her tongue, but could never be asked. He knew everything about her, and she knew next to nothing about him. She didn't know whether he'd ever faced loss like this before; whether he would be able to climb out of the hole he'd dug himself into. She bit her lip, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.  
Walking into bullpen was, if possible, even more awkward than coming into the building. Nobody stopped talking, and nobody stared, but the whole atmosphere of the room shifted dramatically the moment they walked in. It was clear that nobody had been expecting them for another few days.  
Bogo showed no outward signs of surprise upon seeing them, but assigned the various officers their duties one by one, like he did every day. His voice faltered ever so slightly when he said, "Wilde, Hopps," and hesitated, frowning at the paper he held. "Sahara Square patrol."  
They raised their eyebrows at each other. Nick cleared his throat, and Bogo glowered at him until he closed his mouth.  
"The two of you, in here first," he said, pointing at his office. Judy braced herself and walked in, fully expecting a lecture about how they had to get back on track and how little time they had. Instead, he removed his glasses, sighed heavily, and said, "I wasn't expecting the two of you to be back so early. It has been only a day and a half since the stakeout."  
They said nothing.  
Bogo went on. "While I am glad for your presence, I would have preferred it should you have come tomorrow or the day after. That way we may be able to delay a press conference."  
"Delay?" asked Judy. "I don't think we should delay- even today is fine. We need to get it over with, this is going on the papers, on the news, everywhere."  
"She's right," Nick said beside her. His voice was tight and detached. "We should finish it off."  
"Be that as it may, we can't let what happened last time happen again." Bogo nodded sagely. "We need to tread carefully. And the documents we found that give evidence to the fact that you are being framed will be shown to the press, because they are legally binding, and cannot be denied. Another thing," he added. "We have tracked the assassin. We found the contract," he said, pulling a file from under his desk. "Aidan Silverfur," he read aloud. "He is a highly trained assassin, and has been involved in many other crimes in the past. He changes his name for every operation he undertakes, but this is his given name."  
His expression was a entirely foreign one. She had never seen him look so...benign. It looked out of place on the chief's hardened features.  
He sighed. "We tried to track him down. We didn't get anywhere. Now, he was last sighted in Sahara Square. That is your objective. Patrol, yes, but keep an eye out."  
He shoved the files back into his desk, looking up at them with a scowl. The kindness on his face evaporated in an instant. She didn't know whether to sigh in relief or feel disappointed.  
"Now get your sorry tails out of my office. Can't you see I have work to do?"

After weeks of planning and undercover same stakeouts, patrol was a terrifyingly normal thing to do. They were driving in the huge black cruiser, music was blaring from the speakers and there were constantly replenished coffee cups next to them. Sunlight slanted through the windows, the earlier rain forgotten. Pedestrians milled about he streets, drivers yelled at each other, and it was just another day in the city.  
Judy was driving, her eyes peeled. Of course it wasn't as if Aidan would just come sauntering onto the street and buy ice cream from the local vendor. Nothing was that simple. She almost wished he would; her nerves were frayed from the lack of action. She had grown so accustomed to the risk, the action, the constant being on her toes. Patrol seemed boring now.  
But Aidan was a master of disguise. Who knew, he could be that nice-looking fox selling flowers under an umbrella, or the other fox a few yards down the road, talking on his phone. Or the fox in the restaurant, reading a book as he ate. She swallowed, feeling suddenly as if they were being watched.  
"What's up?" asked Nick, making an obnoxiously loud slurping noise as he finished his coffee. He smacked his lips when he finished, and sighed. Suddenly he gasped, pointing down the road. "Look! Stop here, right now!"  
She looked around wildly. "What? What is it?" She slammed her foot onto the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt at the curb.  
"A coffee shop," he said, waving his empty cup. "I need to get another one." He offered her an impish grin, and she sat back, torn between exasperation and amusement. She chose the former.  
"And there was me thinking you'd spotted something important," she snapped.  
He shrugged, slipping out of the car. Just before he slammed the door he said, "I wouldn't worry. I don't think we'll be seeing our elusive friend anytime soon."  
He disappeared into the shop, tossing his empty cup into a bin as he went. Judy sipped her own latte. It had long since gone cold, but she didn't care. It was full of sugar and caffeine, which was good enough for her.  
Nick emerged a few minutes later, a huge cup in his paws. She rolled her eyes as he slid into his seat.  
"Are you even planning to eat lunch, or are you going to drown your sorrows in coffee?"  
He sipped the drink, sitting back. "Option B."  
She sighed. "Well, too bad," she said. "Because you're not going to get another one."  
He made a face. "I can buy it myself, you know."  
"No you can't," she replied, starting the car. "You're broke. That cup cost you your last coin, and I'm not buying you another."  
She sensed, rather than saw his smile. "Ahh, you know me too well, Carrots," he said. "What would I do without you?"  
She his her smile. "Keep asking yourself that," she said, and the car peeled away from the curb and raced onto the road.

"Seriously? We've been at this for hours," said Nick as they drove along the street. He was driving now, had been since lunch; his back was stiff, and his fingers felt stuck to the wheel from gripping it for so long at a time. "We haven't seen anything."  
"Don't be so pessimistic," Judy yawned next to him. Her feet were up on the dashboard and her window was rolled down, the wind tearing inside and lifting her ears. "We caught that thief."  
"Yeah, well, that doesn't count."  
"Why not? Because I did all the work?"  
He snorted. "No, because _I_ did all the work."  
She made a noncommittal noise. "No you didn't. I'm the one who ran after him."  
"And I'm the one who caught him and arrested him."  
"But I actually exerted myself and gave chase."  
"But at the end it's me who caught him."  
"You're just mad that I saw him first."  
"And you're just mad that I'm the one who stopped him."  
"You're-" she made an exasperated noise. "You know what, forget it."  
He didn't bother hiding his triumphant grin. He saw Judy huff and scowl, folding her arms.  
"Why do you think Bogo gave us patrol?" she asked after a while of silent driving.  
He sighed, shrugging his stiff shoulders. "Because he reckoned that we needed to do something other than paperwork and missions?"  
"No," she said impatiently. "I mean, yeah, we do, but-" she sighed. "Normalcy," she said. "This whole case has been a huge jumble of all sorts of things that were not used to: undercovers, stakeouts, press conferences dealing with all this...it's taken its toll on us. And he felt like we needed something regular to do. Patrol. Like we used to do, almost every day, before..."  
_Before all this started. Before everything fell apart._  
"I'm grateful," she said after a while. "This was good. It was simple, and we didn't overexert ourselves or any of that stuff."  
He sighed. "I guess." He paused. "But we have to stop him. We can't let this game go on." He stopped the car as a red light sprang onto the signal.  
"We do, it's just that," she hesitated. "He's too good," she said. "He'll keep evading us, over and over, and we're just chasing our tails trying to find him."  
The light turned green, and the car sped forward. "Not if we're smart," he retaliated. "Now we know about Aidan. Find him, we find Omega. Kill him, we stop Omega. For a while, at least. Then we can work around eliminating him."  
Judy leaned back, contemplative. "I'm just so angry," she said finally. "At Omega, at Aidan, at myself..." She dropped her head against the back of the seat.  
"Let's just go back," she sighed, and the rest of the drive passed in silence.

The day seemed to stretch too fast, night falling so soon that it was already dark by the time Nick and Judy reached the ZPD to hand Bogo the day's meager report. He gave it a quick once-over, nodded, then ushered them into his office again.  
"Detectives, I have some strange news."  
They waited.  
He took off his glasses and scowled. "The press says that they don't want an audience with us about this stakeout. When we asked after them they politely declined and refused to comment further."  
Nick raised his brows. Judy looked equally nonplussed. "But why?" he asked. "I thought they'd pounce on this one."  
"We all did," said Bogo. "They said they were willing to forfeit this interview for as long as they wish it. I don't know when they'll ask for it, they may come around a few days from now."  
Nick sat back. After all this, when the stakeout had gone so massively wrong, they'd be there like vultures, waiting to feast on their latest failure. But this new attitude of hanging back made him feel like they were biding their time and waiting for one when the strike would be ten times as powerful. It was how they were.  
"They'll come back in a few days, I'm sure," said Nick. "They're just waiting for...something. I don't know what, but I know they'll come back."  
Judy scowled, the expression on her face exactly matching Bogo's. "They still have to write about it in the papers and all of that. This can't just go unnoticed."  
"Hardly unnoticed," said Bogo. "The whole city knows. It came in the papers, but the article lacks a certain depth that everyone knows can only come from interviewing the two of you."  
Judy looked unnerved. "Then they'll come."  
"They will. And when they do, it'll be when you're least prepared, and least expecting it. So be on your guard. Constantly keep a eye out. Keep mulling over the facts. And above all, do not give them any excuse to spin your sentences and twist your words. They have a certain gift of slapping us without letting us see their hand."  
Nick cracked a smile. "Noted."  
Judy was worrying at her lower lip. "I don't like this...any of it. I have the oddest feeling that if they ever do an interview for this it'll blow up in our faces."  
"Just remember what I told you," said Bogo. "It will be fine. Now leave, both of you. And don't get too worried, but don't get too complacent either. Dismissed!"  
Judy blew out a sigh. "Great. Just great. Of course this would have happened, I don't know why I wasn't expecting it."  
"Expecting them to not show up?" asked Nick, twirling the car keys in his paw.  
"Yes, actually. I know they're biding their time," she replied, eerily echoing his earlier thought. "It's what they do."  
They sat in the car, and when they closed the doors the noises of the city were muffled instantly. Judy was at the wheel, her ears drooping slightly. "I just want to go home, and sleep," she sighed, "so that's what I'm going to do."  
Nick patted her shoulder. "You do that."  
She smiled at him, and said, "I know this whole thing is going to work out, you know. It's a feeling. We're going to stop this psychopath whether you want to or not."  
He laughed. It had been a long time since he'd laughed. "Whether I want to or not? Can't you tell?"  
She turned to him. "Well..."  
"Bet," he said idly, checking his watch, "that you can't reach the flat in less than seven minutes."  
Her grin as it spread across her face was wicked. "Is that a challenge?"  
He pretended to think. "Well..."  
She reached up, starting the car. "You are so going to lose."  
He managed one last grin before the engine revved to life and the car went careening down the street, speeding away into the city beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line, "the press slaps you without letting you see their hand," is a phrase I heard recently. I was a journalist in the International Press for another MUN, and our head was fond of advising us to do just that. It was really enlightening, and now the press has taken on anther form for me. He said that we're the villains whether you know it or not, and I plan to incorporate a lot of what I experienced, because you have no idea how fun it is to watch people squirm as you interview them. :-D

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism will be welcomed with opened arms.


End file.
